Professional Competence and Spiritual Care Provision Among Zambian Maternal Healthcare Providers: Through the Lens of Watson's Theory of Human Caring.

Spiritual care is a multifaceted and integral part of holistic health within the medical standard of care, and it is a crucial component of healthcare providers' (HCPs) job descriptions. This study aimed to investigate Zambian HCPs' professional competence and practice of spiritual care in maternal healthcare settings, with a comparative focus on nurses. A cross-sectional design was applied among 311 maternal HCPs using an online survey with two validated instruments: Professional Competence in Spiritual Care (PCSC) and the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS).

Exploring exclusive breastfeeding readiness: experiences of first-time mothers in Lusaka, Zambia.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. While many studies have provided insight into exclusive breastfeeding in Zambia, few have looked at the experiences of first-time mothers and exclusive breastfeeding readiness.

Objective: To explore exclusive breastfeeding readiness and experiences of first-time mothers in Zambia.