ORIGINAL ARTICLE Factors affecting spiritual care practices of oncology nurses: a qualitative study Soolmaz Moosavi 1 & Camelia Rohani 2 & Fariba Borhani 3 & Mohammad Esmaeel Akbari 4 Received: 10 April 2018 /Accepted: 24 July 2018 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Purpose Spiritual care is a component of the holistic nursing approach. But in practice, nurses face many challenges during the implementation of spirituality care. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the barriers and facilitators affecting spiritual care practices by oncology nurses. Methods This qualitative study was conducted using a conventional content analysis based on semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, including cancer patients and their family members, oncology nurses, physicians, psychologist, and spiritual researcher-therapists. Results The results showed that the two main themes of the study, Bspiritual competency^ and Bspiritual inefficiency^ in healthcare organization, were two major factors in implementing spiritual care practices for cancer patients by oncology nurses. Conclusions The findings of this study emphasize the necessity of developing coherent spiritual care programs in hospitals and removing administrative barriers. Teaching spiritual care in nursing courses at schools and continuing education programs for training of healthcare team members are necessary. Likewise, forming a spiritual care team with oncology nurses at the center and defining their members’ roles and responsibilities are essential. Hospital managers can also make fruitful steps by establishing a monitoring system and identifying the needs and barriers for spiritual care in oncology settings. Keywords Spiritual care . Obstacles . Facilitators . Cancer patient . Oncology nurse . Spiritual care team Introduction The prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, is on the rise worldwide. The World Health Organization has predicted that the incidence of cancer will rise from 14.1 million in 2012 to 24.6 million in 2030 [1]. This increasing incidence in Iran is also significant [2]. In GLOBOCAN 2012, (IARC) 85,000 new cases of cancer were reported in Iran, a number that will reach 156,000 by 2030 [1]. These statistics highlight the im- portance of both paying special attention to this disease and providing thorough treatment and care for cancer patients [3]. Evidence reveals that mere significant advances in biomedical fields are not sufficient to provide quality care and meet all needs of cancer patients. Significant progress in early diagno- sis and treatment of cancer increases the life expectancy of patients [3]. But, cancer with unexpected presence and change in the meaning and purpose of life underline the spiritual needs of cancer patients in their care [4]. Spirituality is a concept that typically refers to human’ s search for finding a meaning, and purpose for life and death * Camelia Rohani camelia.rohani@sbmu.ac.ir; cameliarohani@yahoo.com Soolmaz Moosavi moosavi.soolmaz@yahoo.com Fariba Borhani faribaborhani@msn.com Mohammad Esmaeel Akbari proposalcrc@yahoo.com 1 School of Nursing & Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2 Community Health Nursing Department, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Hashemi Rafsanjani Hwy, Valiasr Street, Tehran, Iran 3 Medical Surgical Department, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4 Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Supportive Care in Cancer https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4378-8