Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Post-traumatic Growth Among Muslim CPR Survivors

Development and Validation of the Nurses' Spiritual Sensitivity Scale in Southeastern Iran

Spiritual sensitivity refers to awareness and perception of the attitudes and feelings of others and helps nurses to recognize and take responsibility for the spiritual values and needs of patients. The dimensions of spiritual sensitivity remain unknown as there is no comprehensive and standardized scale for assessing nurses' spiritual sensitivity; therefore, the current research aimed to design and validate the nurses' spiritual sensitivity scale. We conducted this exploratory sequential study using eight stages suggested by DeVellis (2016) when developing the scale. We conducted this study among Iranian nurses from March 2021 to October 2022. Results suggested a 20-item scale with two components (nurses' professional spiritual sensitivity and nurses' internal spiritual sensitivity) that explained 57.62% of the total variance extracted. We were able to confirm convergent validity based on an acceptable correlation between the nurses' spiritual sensitivity scale and the King's spiritual intelligence scale (r = 0.66), which showed good stability (cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.927, omega coefficient = 0.923, and icc = 0.937). Spiritual sensitivity in nurses is difficult to evaluate. Considering the acceptability of the psychometric properties of the "Nurses' spiritual sensitivity" scale, this scale can be used in clinical environments to evaluate nurses' spiritual sensitivity. Therefore, it is suggested that managers and policy makers should consider developing related guidelines to help nurses to become more spiritually sensitive and also to meet the spiritual needs of patients. We suggest further studies to confirm the study results in the nursing community.

Muslim nurse's spiritual sensitivity as a higher perception and reflection toward spiritual care: a qualitative study in southeast Iran

BACKGROUND

Spiritually sensitive nurses perceive the spiritual attitudes and feelings of others. They play a positive role in providing spiritual care to patients. Spiritually sensitive nurses deal appropriately with suffering, frustration, and spiritual dysfunction. Therefore, the present study aimed to explain Iranian nurses' experiences of spiritual sensitivity.

METHODS

This qualitative descriptive explorative study used conventional content analysis and purposeful sampling to explain the experiences of Iranian nurses (n = 19). This study used in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 nurses, as well as maximum variation sampling to gather rich information (age, sex, religion, work experience, level of education, marital status, type of hospital and ward) from March 2021 to January 2022. The current study also employed Guba & Lincoln criteria to increase data trustworthiness and Graneheim and Lundman approach to analyze the content.

RESULTS

The research data showed 497 codes, 1 theme, 3 categories, and 6 subcategories. The theme of "Nurse's spiritual sensitivity as a higher perception and reflection toward spiritual care" included three categories of the spiritual and professional character of the nurse, perception of the spiritual needs of patients and their families, and the nurse's reflection on the religious beliefs of patients and their families.

CONCLUSION

Spiritual sensitivity helps a nurse to provide holistic care for patients and their families. Therefore, managers and policymakers should create guidelines to help nurses become more spiritually sensitive as well as to meet spiritual needs of patients. Further quantitative and qualitative research should confirm these results in other social and cultural contexts.

Hospitalization Experiences and Post-traumatic Stress in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Opportunities for Change

INTRODUCTION

Medical trauma related to IBD (IBD-PTS) affects approximately 25% of patients and is associated with poor outcomes. Prior studies identify common hospitalization experiences as potentially traumatic but have not measured risk relationships for the development of IBD-PTS. We aim to investigate what aspects of hospitalizations may increase the chance of medical trauma and IBD-PTS development.

METHODS

Adult patients with IBD enrolled in the IBD Partners database were recruited. Study specific questionnaires included PTSD checklist, 5th edition (PCL-5), patient experience questionnaire, and items about the patient's most stressful hospitalization and nonhospital sources of medical trauma. Established criteria for the PCL-5 identified significant IBD-PTS symptoms (re-experiencing, avoidance, mood change, hyperarousal, global diagnosis). Select disease and treatment information was obtained from the main IBD Partners dataset. Univariate and multivariate statistics evaluated the relationships between hospitalization data and IBD-PTS.

RESULTS

There were 639 participants with at least 1 hospitalization for IBD included. Approximately two-thirds had Crohn's disease; most were White, non-Hispanic, female, middle-aged, and reported their IBD as being in remission. Forty percent of patients stated a hospitalization was a source of IBD-PTS. Frequent anxiety while hospitalized increased the odds of IBD-PTS 2 to 4 times; similar relationships existed for pain/pain control. Higher quality communication, information, and listening skills reduced the odds of IBD-PTS, albeit marginally.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with IBD consistently cite hospitalizations as potential sources of medical trauma. Poorly managed anxiety and pain demonstrate the greatest chance for IBD-PTS development. Gender and racial/ethnic differences emerged for these risks. Positive interactions with the medical team may help mitigate in-hospital IBD-PTS development.

Effectiveness of Spiritual Counseling on the Enhancement of Hope in Iranian Muslim Patients with Myocardial Infarction: A Two-Month Follow-Up

Hope is the most important source of coping in patients who have experienced acute cardiac events, and despair is considered an important cause of discontinued treatment and a threat to patients' mental health. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of spiritual counseling on hope in patients with myocardial infarction over a two-month period. Fifty-six Iranian Muslim patients with myocardial infarction participated; participants were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (n = 28) or the control group (n = 28). The experiment group received three sessions of group spiritual counseling. The patients' hope was measured before intervention and immediately, one month, and two months after the intervention. The results indicated that no significant difference in hope was present between the intervention and control groups at baseline (Z = - 2.56, effect size = 0.75, P = 0.1). Significance between-group differences favoring the intervention group, however, were noted immediately post-intervention (Z = - 2.72, effect size = 0.91, P = 0.007), one month afterward (Z =  - 6.22, effect size = 3.14, P < 0.001), and two months afterward (Z = - 6.10, effect size = 2.65, P < 0.001). Hope significantly improved in the intervention group during the study. Utilizing spiritual counseling as an effective non-aggressive form of treatment can improve hope among patients with myocardial infarction.