Development of a Spiritual Health Curriculum: An Applied Study in Iran

Abstract

Background: Today, prioritizing the spiritual well-being of medical students holds significant importance in numerous countries worldwide. An educational curriculum serves as a comprehensive written document that delineates educational objectives, content, as well as teaching and assessment methods. Objectives: This study aims to formulate and construct a curriculum for a master's degree program in spiritual health. Methods: The initial phase of this study aims to ascertain the existing state of spiritual health education programs by conducting a thorough literature review. In the subsequent phase, a focus group discussion was conducted with eight experts and scholars to deliberate on the spiritual health curriculum, utilizing Tyler's curriculum development model as a framework. Finally, the nominal group process was employed to reach a consensus among the experts, ensuring the formulation of the final draft. Results: The spiritual health education curriculum was developed following Tyler's curriculum planning framework, encompassing four distinct components. Part one outlines the goals of the spiritual health curriculum, while part two focuses on defining the content of the curriculum. Part three addresses the learning opportunities and strategies for teaching spiritual health within the curriculum. Lastly, part four involves the evaluation process to assess the effectiveness and impact of the spiritual health curriculum. Conclusions: Spiritual health education has been recommended in various references. Recognizing discipline as spiritual health has fostered the growth of spiritual concepts in the healthcare environment, bringing attention to the needs of patients.