Spiritual Care-Giving Scale Research Articles

Reliability and validity test of the Chinese version of the spiritual care-giving scale in nursing undergraduates and its application

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-giving Scale (C-SCGS) in nursing undergraduates and its application. Methods: This was a retrospective study. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 262 senior nursing undergraduates from Chengde Medical University, China from May to June, 2023 through convenience sampling method. The C-SCGS and the general demographic data table were employed to investigate the subjects. Results: The C-SCGS retained 34 items, and four common factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, with a cumulative contribution rate of 65.15%. The I-CVI value of the scale was 0.88-1.0, and the S-CVI/Ave value was 0.94. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the total scale was 0.957, that of each dimension ranged from 0.850 to 0.944, with a split-half coefficient of 0.887. Conclusion: The C-SCGS may be used to evaluate the spiritual cognition of Chinese nursing undergraduates by virtue of its good reliability and validity. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.10.9021 How to cite this: Huang Y, Lv D, Wang T, Zhang H, Zhang L. Reliability and validity test of the Chinese version of the spiritual care-giving scale in nursing undergraduates and its application. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(10):2313-2318. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.10.9021 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Relationship Between Religious Attitude, Compassion and Spiritual Care in Nursing Students: The Case of Türkiye.

In the present descriptive study, we aimed to examine the relationship between the levels of religious attitude, compassion and spiritual care perception among nursing students. Data were obtained from 135 nursing students using the Socio-Demographic Diagnosis Form, the Ok-Religious Attitude Scale, the Compassion Scale, and the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale. The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test, the Spearman correlation test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. A positive correlation was found between the scores of the Ok-religious attitude scale and cognition sub-dimension, emotion sub-dimension, behavior sub-dimension, god sub-dimension and compassion scale and spiritual care-giving scale scores. Furthermore, we observed that some socio-demographic, and nursing profession and spiritual care characteristics of the students affected their religious attitudes, compassion and spiritual care perception. The sub-dimension scores of compassion and awareness of sharing among female students and the mindfulness scores of students with nuclear families were high. Our data suggest that the course contents for spiritual care, which is an integral part of holistic nursing care, should be included in the nursing curriculum. Moreover, we recommend that efforts be made to maintain a high level of compassion while considering the socio-demographics of the students and their opinions on the nursing profession. Finally, the data presented here has the potential to serve as a valuable resource for the development of novel approaches to the provision of spiritual care within nursing education programs.

The relationship between knowledge, self-efficacy and nursing spiritual care behaviors in school-age children in pediatric room

Introduction: Spiritual care for children is important in the care provided by nurses so that children do not feel guilty when being treated in the hospital. It is important for nurses to understand that the process of providing nursing care is bio-psycho-social and spiritual based. This study aimed to find out the relationship between knowledge, self-efficacy, and nurse behavior in the provision of spiritual care for school-age children in hospitals. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional approach with a purposive sampling technique followed by 102 nurses who cared for school-age children in a pediatric nursing room. Knowledge was measured using the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale, Self-Efficacy was measured by Burkhart Spiritual Care Inventory (BCI), and Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutic Scale (NSCTS) to measure behavior. The data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and Spearman correlation test. Results: There was no significant correlation between knowledge and behavior (p = 0.181; r = 0.133); however, there was a significant correlation of nurse behavior with self-efficacy (p = 0.027; r = 0.219), age (p = 0.015; r = 0.240), length of work (p = 0.021; r = 0.228), and spiritual care training (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Knowledge does not have a significant relationship with behavior. However self-efficacy, age, length of work, and spiritual care training significantly affects the nurse's behavior in providing spiritual care to school-age children in the hospital.

Does the nursing students' perceived level of compassion correlate with affect their perception of spiritual care?

BackgroundIt is an important competence for nurses to develop compassion emotions during their education. Studies emphasize compassion as one of the most important components of spiritual care, suggesting that spiritual care begins with compassionate relationships. However, there is no study about the relationship between these two concepts in nursing students. ObjectiveTo determine the level of perceived compassion and perceived spiritual care in nursing students and to reveal the effect of compassion on perceived spiritual care. DesignCross-sectional study. SettingThe faculty of health sciences of a state university in Turkey. ParticipantsNursing students at the faculty where the study was conducted in the fall academic semester of the 2022–2023 academic year. MethodsThe population of the study consisted of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade nursing students at the faculty of health sciences of a state university in the fall academic year of the 2022–2023 academic year (N = 720). The study was completed with a total of 440 nursing students. Data were collected online using a sociodemographic information form, the Compassion Scale and the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale between October 10 and November 20, 2022 via Google Forms. ResultsThe students scored 98.72 ± 12.16 (high) on the Compassion Scale and 146.47 ± 28.92 (high) on the Spiritual Care Giving Scale. There was a significant positive correlation between their perceived compassion and spiritual care giving mean scores (r = 0.440; p < 0.01). The explanatory power of the regression model was 0.292, suggesting that 29.2 % of the variance of spiritual care-giving can be explained by compassion. ConclusionThe students reported high levels of perceived compassion and perceived spiritual care. Compassion is an important component in the formation of perceived spiritual care in nursing students. Further studies in diverse populations will be useful for the comparisons of relevant results.

Unani Tibb practitioners’ perceptions and attitudes towards spirituality and spiritual care in Unani Tibb practice in South Africa

BackgroundUnani Tibb is an Arabic term which means Greek medicine. It is an ancient holistic medical system based on the healing theories of Hippocrates, Galen and Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Despite this, spirituality and spiritual care practices are deficient in the clinical setting.MethodsThis cross-sectional descriptive study was used to describe Unani Tibb practitioners’ perceptions and attitudes regarding spirituality and spiritual care in South Africa. A demographic form, Spiritual Care-Giving Scale, Spiritual and Spiritual Care Rating Scale and Spirituality in Unani Tibb Scale were used to collect data.ResultsA response rate of 64.7% (n = 44 out of 68) was achieved. Positive perceptions and attitudes regarding spirituality and spiritual care were recorded for Unani Tibb practitioners. The spiritual needs of their patients were considered vital towards enhancing the Unani Tibb treatment approach. Spirituality and spiritual care were regarded as fundamental to Unani Tibb therapy. However, most practitioners agreed that adequate training in spirituality and spiritual care was lacking and future training initiatives were imperative for Unani Tibb clinical practice in South Africa.ConclusionThe findings of this study recommends further research in this field by means of qualitative and mixed methods approaches to provide a deeper understanding to this phenomenon. Clear guidelines on spirituality and spiritual care for Unani Tibb clinical practice are essential to ensure the integrity of the holistic approach required by the profession.

Emotional intelligence as a mediator between spiritual care-giving competency and core competencies in Chinese nursing interns: a cross-sectional study.

The development of nursing interns' fundamental competencies should be a top focus because they represent an essential reserve for nursing professionals. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between spiritual care-giving competency (SCG) and nursing core competencies (NCC) among Chinese nursing interns,adopting a competency-based education (CBE) perspective, additionally, the study aims to examine how emotional intelligence (EI) serves as a mediator in thisrelationship. A nationwide online survey was completed by 1811 Chinese nursing interns at vocational colleges between June and July 2022 as part of a multi-site, cross-sectional, web-based study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and competencies inventory for the registered nurse questionnaire (CIRN), the Chinese version of the spiritual care-giving scale questionnaire (C-SCGS), and the Chinese version of the Wong and Law EI scale questionnaire (WLEIS-C). Means, standard deviations, t-tests, one-way ANOVA analysis, and Pearson's production correlation coefficients were calculated using IBM SPSS25.0 software. Mediated effect tests and studies utilizing the process plug-in SPSS developed by Hayes. The NCCs of college nursing interns were related to whether working as student leaders, whether have a better self-learning evaluation level, whether a college nursing intern with good interpersonal relationship, and whether they intend to engage in the nursing profession in the future. The scores of NCC, EI, and SCG were (156.43±23.14), (61.55±9.10), and (167.64±20.52) respectively. There were positive correlations among SCG (r = 0.402), EI (r = 0.506), and NCC. The partial mediating effect of EI between SCG and NCC was 0.127, accounting for 36.29% of the total results. The average levels of Chinese college nursing interns' NCC and SCG were at a moderate level. EI is mediating between SCG and NCC in Chinese nursing interns. This new perspective shows that developing and improving SCG and EI may improve NCC. We suggest modifying the nurse curriculum and instruction to strengthen NCC and integrating SCG and EI management into the nursing curriculum.

The Relationship between Nurses’ Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care and Perceived Professional Benefits: A Correlation Study

Purpose. This study aimed to investigate nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care and perceived professional benefits in China and reveal the relationship between them. Design and Methods. In this study, 372 nurses (response rate: 93.47%) from a number of hospitals across China were surveyed using convenience sampling. The data were collected through online questionnaires, including a sociodemographic characteristics form, the Chinese version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (C-SCGS), and the Nurses’ Perceived Professional Benefits Questionnaire (NPPBQ). Findings. The total score of the NPPBQ was 136.88 ± 20.13. A statistically significant relationship was found between the total score and subscale score of the C-SCGS and the total score and subscale score of the NPPBQ (R = 0.217–0.475, P &lt; 0.01). Practice Implications. Nursing managers and educators should pay attention to improving nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in order to help nurses gain more perceived professional benefits.

Spiritual care perceptions and empathy of Chinese nursing students: The mediating roles of spiritual well-being.

To investigate spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy, examine the correlations among spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy, and explore the mediating role of spiritual well-being between other two variables of Chinese nursing students. A cross-sectional design was implemented, and the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Checklist was used to ensure quality reporting of the study. A cluster sample of 2,718 nursing students was selected from 7 universities and colleges in China. The demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (C-SCGS), the Spiritual Health Scale Short Form (SHS-SF), and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Nursing Student (JSPE-NS) were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and process plug-in mediation effect analyses were used to analyze the data. The total score of spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy were 173.83 ± 25.62, 98.74 ± 12.87, and 105.04 ± 21.34, respectively. Spiritual care perceptions were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.617, p < 0.01) and empathy (r = 0.528, p < 0.01). And spiritual well-being played a partial mediating role between the other two variables (accounting for 28.1%). Spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy were quite moderate, which need in improving. It is suggested that nursing educators pay attention to the spiritual care education of nursing students, perfect the spiritual care education system, and take targeted measures according to nursing students' individual personality traits and differences, improve their spiritual well-being and empathy in multiple ways, so as to improve their spiritual care perceptions and competence.

Correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health of Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional correlational study.

The significance of spiritual care competence among nurses has been emphasized across countries and cultures in many studies. However, there were few studies on correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health of nurses in China. To investigate spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health, and examine the correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health, and the mediating role of spiritual health between other two variables of Chinese nurses. A cross-sectional and correlational design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to report the study. A convenience sample of 2,181 nurses were selected from 17 hospitals in 3 provinces, China. Participants provided data on sociodemographic by completing the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale, and the Spiritual Health Scale Short Form. Descriptive statistics, univariate, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze data. The total scores of spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health were 58.25 ± 16.21, 144.49 ± 16.87, and 84.88 ± 10.57, respectively, which both were moderate. Spiritual care competence was positively correlated with spiritual care perceptions (r = 0.653, p < 0.01) and spiritual health (r = 0.587, p < 0.01). And spiritual health played a mediating role between the other two variables (accounting for 35.6%). The spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health of Chinese nurses need to be improved. It is recommended that nursing managers should pay attention to spiritual care education of nurses, and improve spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health in multiple ways, so as to improve their spiritual care competence and to maximize the satisfy spiritual care needs of patients in China.

The Relationship Between Nursing Students' Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care and their Personal Values.

This study involveda descriptive and correlational study to determine how nursing students atone universityin Turkeyperceive spiritual care. The data were collected through a personal information form, the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale and the Portrait Values Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Pearson's Correlation Analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. There was a correlation between perceptions of personal values and spiritual care. It was observed that the values that predicted perception of spiritual care were the values of hedonism and tradition. Therefore, it is recommended to plan value-based training, especially on subjective concepts such as spiritual care and plan simulation-based training where students can measure the results of their behaviors and reactions in given scenarios.

PERSEPSI PERAWAT MENGENAI KEBUTUHAN SPIRITUAL DAN PEMENUHAN KEBUTUHAN SPIRITUAL PASIEN DI INSTALASI GAWAT DARURAT

Patient overcrowding and rapid patient turnover in emergency department cause nurses to be less than optimal in providing patients spiritual needs. This condition can affect the emergency nurses' perceptions of spirituality and fulfill the patient's spiritual needs. A good fulfillment of the emergency patients spiritual needs can also improved a good treatment results. Nurses who have a good spiritual perception will have the ability to fulfill the patient's spiritual needs. Objective: describe nurses’ perception of spiritual needs and fulfill the spiritual needs of patients in the emergency department. Methods: This study was used descriptive survey research. Samples were taken using total sampling technique and obtained 75 participants. Data were taken using the Spiritual Care Giving Scale (SCGS) questionnaire and analyzed by univariate analysis. Results: more than a half of emergency nurses considered spiritual needs and fulfilled the patient’s spiritual needs as very important (57,3%). Every aspect of fulfilling spiritual needs is also perceived to be very important by emergency nurses. Conclusion: An aspect that need to be improved are values in fulfilling spiritual needs. The value of spirituality is interpreted as a very important part of holistic nursing. Consequently, emergency nurses need to improve their understanding of spirituality so that the implementation of fulfilling patients spiritual needs in emergency department can be positively reinforced.

Spiritual care, compassion and associated factors of midwives working in delivery rooms.

This study aimed to determine the level of spiritual care and compassion among midwives working in delivery rooms and associated factors. A descriptive design was utilized to collect data using self-report questionnaires from 181 midwives working in delivery rooms in Turkey. Data were collected between 1 February 2020 and 20 March 2020. The mean Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS) (min: 25- max: 175) and Compassion Scale (CS) (min: 24- max: 120) scores were 147.88 ± 17.84 and 96.37 ± 12.84. It was determined that there was a significant difference between the SCGS and CS scores of the midwives based on age, working year, work schedule, job satisfaction and traumatic birth experiences. Furthermore, there were positive correlations between scores on certain SCGS and CS subdimensions. Midwifery is a continuously evolving profession based on helping others. However, long working hours and their exposure to traumatic birth events negatively affect both spiritual caregiving and compassion levels of midwives. Working conditions of midwives need to improve and this would contribute to the quality of maternal healthcare. Also, studies should be conducted in different contexts, societies and cultures to identify barriers to compassionate and spiritual care during childbirth.

Spiritual Care Perceptions of Baccalaureate Nursing Students.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students' perception of spirituality and spiritual care as a component of holistic nursing practice. Aim: The specific aim of this study was to determine the perception levels of spiritual care, religiosity, and spirituality in first- and last-semester BSN students. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of BSN students. Participants (n = 150) completed demographics with self-reflected levels of religiosity and spirituality, the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS), and the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). Findings: First-semester and last-semester BSN students were predominately single, female, Caucasian, and Christian. First-semester BSN students completed the SCGS and SSCRS upon entrance and exit in the first semester of the nursing program with no significant differences found. However, the last-semester BSN students scored significantly higher than the first-semester BSN students on the SCGS and the SSCRS. Conclusion: Over the course of the nursing program, the last-semester BSN students gained insight into spiritual care placing a higher emphasis on spirituality and less on religiosity. This supports the threading of spiritual nursing care throughout the nursing curriculum. Further study validation is needed.

Perception on spiritual care: Comparation of the nursing students of public university and religious-based university

Poor implementation of spiritual care in nursing practice may stem from the nursing education. This study aimed to compare the perception of nursing students of a public university and a religious-based university on spiritual care. The research used the descriptive-comparative method. 141 nursing students were recruited through consecutive sampling technique in a university in Depok, West Java and a religious-based university in Jakarta, Indonesia. Data were collected using the Spiritual Care Giving Scale (SCGS) questionnaire. The result showed that the participants had a good perception about spiritual care with the mean score of 171.39. However, there was no significant difference in perception regarding spiritual care between nursing students from the public university and the religion-based university (p value=0.612). The perception on spiritual care of nursing students was fairly similar regardless of the type of their university. This may be related with the comparable religious and cultural backgrounds in the two settings, as well as the nursing education curriculum implemented nationally, yet it takes further studies to examine such factors.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese mainland version of the Palliative Care Spiritual Care Competency Scale (PCSCCS-M) in nursing: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundSpiritual care competencies are among the primary professional skills that enable best practices in nursing. Assessing these competencies and identifying those that are insufficient are important tasks. The traditional Chinese version of the Palliative Care Spiritual Care Competency Scale (PCSCCS) used in Taiwan is a well-validated tool to measure palliative caregivers’ competencies in providing spiritual care. However, whether this scale is valid and reliable for use with nurses in other health-care contexts is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine this version’s validity and reliability for use with nurses in mainland China.MethodsThe PCSCCS was first converted into a simplified Chinese version (PCSCCS-M) from the traditional Chinese version used in Taiwan such that mainland nurses could read and understand it easily. Then, the validity and reliability of the PCSCCS-M was evaluated with 400 Chinese nurses recruited using convenience sampling from three university-affiliated comprehensive hospitals, two cancer hospitals, one psychiatric hospital, two traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, one marital and child service care center, and one community health service center. Concurrent validity was assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients of the PCSCCS-M and the Chinese version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (C-SCGS). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to determine the construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using another sample of 351 nurses to verify the quality of the factor structures of the PCSCCS-M. An internal consistency test based on Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and a stability test based on the Guttman split-half coefficient were also conducted.ResultsUseful data were obtained from 356 participants (response rate: 89%). EFA confirmed a three-dimensional structure of the scale after one item was deleted, and the three factors explained 63.839% of the total variance. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the three subscales were 0.811, 0.889 and 0.896, and the Guttman split-half coefficient for the PCSCCS-M was 0.862. Modified CFA indicated a well-fitting model. The correlation between the PCSCCS-M and C-SCGS was 0.340 (p < 0.01).ConclusionsThe PCSCCS-M is a brief, easy-to-understand, and psychometrically sound measurement tool to evaluate spiritual care competencies in nurses from mainland China.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the spiritual care-giving scale (C-SCGS) in nursing practice

BackgroundSpiritual care is defined as recognizing and responding to the needs of the human spirit when the individual is facing trauma, illness, or sadness. Providing spiritual care is one of the core aspects of holistic care, as it is significantly associated with patients’ quality of life. The provision of optimal spiritual care requires good understanding by the nurses. Therefore, it is important to assess this understanding by using a proven, well-validated instrument. The Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS) is designed to measure nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in Singapore. However, it is unknown whether this scale is valid and reliable for use with nurses in the context of Chinese culture. The purpose of this study is to determine this version’s validity and reliability for use with nurses in China.MethodsIn this quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study, after translating the English version of the SCGS into Chinese and making adjustments for culture and values, we assessed the performance of this instrument by administering the C-SCGS to a convenience sample of 400 nurses. The participants also completed the Chinese version of the Spiritual Care Competency Scale (C-SCCS) to assess the concurrent validity of the C-SCGS. The internal consistency and homogeneity of the C-SCGS were also tested, and a factorial analysis was performed.ResultsCompleted questionnaires were obtained from 355 participants (response rate: 88.75%). Four factors were confirmed by an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using Promax with the Kaiser normalization rotation method after the 35-item SCGS was reduced to 34 items, and these factors explained 53.116% of the total variance. The adjusted item–total correlation ranged from 0.527 to 0.760. The Cronbach’s alpha of the factors ranged from 0.836 to 0.941, and the Guttman split-half coefficient was between 0.759 and 0.902. The concurrent validity of the C-SCGS and C-SCCS (r = 0.534, p < 0.01) showed a significant correlation. Nurses’ education showed a significant association with the scores of the C-SCGS.ConclusionThe C-SCGS was found to be a psychometrically sound measurement to evaluate Chinese-speaking nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care.

PERSEPSI MAHASISWA KEPERAWATAN TENTANG PERAWATAN SPIRITUAL (SPIRITUAL CARE)

Perception that received by nursing student can determine their behavior toward spiritual care in nursing practice. It is important to be identified in the academic stage to evaluate whether the learning process is able to support student perception. The purpose of this study was to identify the perception of nursing students about spiritual car e. This research was quantitative descriptive. Population were final year and third year nursing student at one of the institution in West Java. Samples were acquired using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique (n=171). Data were collected using a spiritual care giving scale (SCGS) . Data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage, and mean. Result of this research indicated that all of respondents had a favorable perception about spiritual care. However, there still aspects that had lower mean value comparing other aspects. Based on frequency distribution, there were number respondents who had disagree statement about form of spiritual care (11,1%) and individual ’s integrity when having spirituality in theirself (12,3%). The conclusion of this research was all respondents had a favorable perception of spiritual care. Nevertheless, there were aspects that need to be improved, such as spiritual care attitudes and definition of spiritual care . These can be improved through a specific education regarding spirituality and spiritual care.

Spiritual perspectives of emergency medicine doctors and nurses in caring for end-of-life patients: A mixed-method study

BackgroundEnd-of-life care is becoming more prevalent in the Emergency Department. Quality end-of-life care includes spiritual support. As spirituality is a relatively vague concept, understanding healthcare professionals’ spiritual perspectives is important. AimsTo explore the perspectives of Emergency Department doctors and nurses in (i) spirituality, (ii) spiritual care domain in end-of-life care and (iii) factors influencing spiritual care provision in the Emergency Department. DesignA sequential explanatory mixed-method design was used. SettingAn Emergency Department of a tertiary teaching hospital in Singapore, which treats more than 120,000 patients annually. ParticipantsThis study involved Emergency Department doctors and nurses who meet the eligibility criteria. In phase one, 64 doctors and 112 nurses were recruited. In phase two, 14 doctors and 15 nurses participated. MethodsThe quantitative phase was conducted first using a socio-demographic form and validated Spiritual Care-Giving Scale on all potential participants. The Spiritual Care-Giving Scale explores one’s perspectives of spirituality and spiritual care. Using a six-point Likert scale, participants would indicate their degree of agreement towards the statements. The qualitative phase was then conducted using focus group discussions on a convenience sample of 14 doctors and 15 nurses. ResultsOverall, participants had positive attitudes and understanding of spirituality and spiritual care, as the mean total Spiritual Care-Giving Scale score was 167.87 (SD=24.35) out of 210. Some knowledge deficits were observed in the focus group discussions as several participants equated spirituality to religion and had limited understanding about spiritual care. Significant differences between the spiritual perspectives of doctors and nurses were reported in Spiritual Perspectives (p-value=0.018) and Spiritual Care Values (p-value=0.004) of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale. Scores by nurses were higher than those of doctors. ConclusionThe study findings emphasized the need for education regarding spirituality and spiritual care across different cultures. This may help healthcare professionals feel more competent to broach such issues and cope with the emotional burden when providing spiritual care.

Spirituality and spiritual care perspectives among baccalaureate nursing students in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundNo study has been undertaken to understand how spirituality and spiritual care is perceived and implemented by Saudi nursing students undergoing training for their future professional roles as nurses. ObjectivesThis study was conducted to investigate the perception of Baccalaureate nursing students toward spirituality and spiritual care. DesignA descriptive, cross-sectional design was employed. Settings and ParticipantsA convenience sample of 338 baccalaureate nursing students in two government-run universities in Saudi Arabia was included in this study. MethodsA self-administered questionnaire, consisting of a demographic and spiritual care background information sheet and the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale Arabic version (SCGS-A), was used for data collection. A multivariate multiple regression analysis and multiple linear regression analyses were performed accordingly. ResultsThe mean value on the SCGS-A was 3.84±1.26. Spiritual perspective received the highest mean (4.14±1.45), followed by attribute for spiritual care (3.96±1.48), spiritual care attitude (3.81±1.47), defining spiritual care (3.71±1.51) and spiritual care values (3.57±1.47). Gender, academic level and learning spiritual care from classroom or clinical discussions showed a statistically significant multivariate effect on the five factors of SCGS-A. ConclusionsEfforts should be done to formally integrate holistic concept including all the facets of spirituality and spiritual care in the nursing curriculum. The current findings can be used to inform the development and testing of holistic nursing conceptual framework in nursing education in Saudi Arabia and other Arab Muslim countries.

Acute care nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care: an exploratory study in Singapore

To investigate acute care nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care and relationships with nurses' personal and professional characteristics. Spirituality and spiritual care are often neglected or absent in daily nursing practice. Nurses' perceptions of spirituality can be influenced by personal, professional and social factors and affect the provision of spiritual care. A cross-sectional, exploratory, nonexperimental design was used. All nursing staff (n=1008) from a large acute care hospital in Singapore were invited to participate. Participants completed a demographic form and the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale. Completed surveys were received from 767 staff yielding a response rate of 76%. Descriptive statistics and General Linear Modelling were used to analyse data. Acute care nurses reported positive perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Religion, area of clinical practice and view of self as spiritual were associated with nurses' reported perspectives of spirituality and spiritual care. Nurses working in this acute care hospital in Singapore reported positive perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Respondents tended to equate religion with spirituality and were often unclear about what constituted spiritual care. They reported a sense of readiness to apply an interprofessional approach to spiritual care. However, positive perceptions of spirituality may not necessarily translate into practice. Spiritual care can improve health outcomes. Nurses' understanding of spirituality is essential for best practice. Interprofessional collaboration with clinicians, administrators, educators, chaplains, clergy and spiritual leaders can contribute to the development of practice guidelines and foster spiritual care by nurses. Further research is needed on the practical applications of spiritual care in nursing.