From spiritual intelligence to spiritual care: A transformative approach to holistic practice

Spiritual intelligence: a scoping review on the gateway to mental health

Spiritual Intelligence (SI) is an independent concept from spirituality, a unifying and integrative intelligence that can be trained and developed, allowing people to make use of spirituality to enhance daily interaction and problem solving in a sort of spirituality into action. To comprehensively map and analyze current knowledge on SI and understand its impact on mental health and human interactions, we conducted a scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, searching for 'spiritual intelligence' across PubMedCentral, Scopus, WebOfScience, and PsycInfo. Quantitative studies using validated SI instruments and reproducible methodologies, published up to 1 January 2022, were included. Selected references were independently assessed by two reviewers, with any disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Data were extracted using a data extraction tool previously developed and piloted. From this search, a total of 69 manuscripts from 67 studies were included. Most studies (n = 48) were conducted in educational (n = 29) and healthcare (n = 19) settings, with the Spiritual Intelligence Self Report Inventory (SISRI-24) emerging as the predominant instrument for assessing SI (n = 39). Analysis revealed several notable correlations with SI: resilience (n = 7), general, mental, and spiritual health (n = 6), emotional intelligence (n = 5), and favorable social behaviors and communication strategies (n = 5). Conversely, negative correlations were observed with burnout and stress (n = 5), as well as depression and anxiety (n = 5). These findings prompt a discussion regarding the integration of the SI concept into a revised definition of health by the World Health Organization and underscore the significance of SI training as a preventative health measure.

Nursing and Medical Students' Responses About End-of-Life Communication Reveal Educational Opportunities for Spiritual Care

BACKGROUND

The need for improved spiritual care education is a national directive, prompting many nursing and medical education programs to respond with spiritual curriculum. This article reports on research that tested an educational intervention to enhance nursing and medical students' understanding of end-of-life communication with families.

METHOD

This mixed-methods study included three reflection questions to ascertain students' attitudes about their own death and dying.

RESULTS

Many of the students' responses were spiritual in nature. Findings revealed two important misconceptions about death and one educational strategy that can be used to help students identify potential sources of spiritual discomfort in clinical situations.

CONCLUSION

The findings offer a glimpse into the attitudes and beliefs of nursing and medical students that could influence how they view and deliver spiritual care, contributing to the evidence base for spiritual care education and curriculum. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(11):601-605.].

Spiritual Intelligence as a Coping Strategy to Manage Job Stress for Midwives in Northern Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to explore whether spiritual intelligence could help midwives cope with job-related stress. A cross-sectional study was done with 143 midwives in Babol, Iran. The sampling method was non-random and convenience samples were used. Amram and Dreyer's spiritual intelligence and health and safety executive occupational stress questionnaires were used. The response rate of subjects was 90.51%. Results showed that the most predictors of job stress were total spiritual intelligence (β = 0.507, p = 0.001) and the ratio of midwives to patients on the night shift (β =  - 0.224, p = 0.033). High levels of spiritual intelligence were associated with a low level of stress, which could help midwives adapt to job-related challenges.

Assessing the Impact of Provider Training and Perceived Barriers on the Provision of Spiritual Care: a Mixed Methods Study

The current study evaluated formal training around spiritual care for healthcare providers and the relationships between that training, perceived barriers to spiritual care, and frequency of inquiry around spiritual topics. A mixed methods explanatory sequential design was used. Quantitative methods included an online survey administered to providers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Main and interactive effects of formal training and barriers to spiritual care on frequency of inquiry around spiritual topics were assessed with two-way ANOVA. Qualitative follow-up explored provider strategies to engage spiritual topics. Among 340 quantitative participants, most were female (82.1%) or White (82.6%) with over one-half identifying as religious (57.5%). The majority were nurses (64.7%) and less than 10% of all providers (n = 26) indicated formal training around spiritual care. There were main effects on frequency of inquiry around spiritual topics for providers who indicated "personal discomfort" as a barrier (p < 0.001), but not formal training (p = 0.526). Providers who indicated "personal discomfort" as a barrier inquired about spirituality less frequently, regardless of receiving formal training (M = 8.0, SD = 1.41) or not (M = 8.76, SD = 2.96). There were no interactive effects between training and "may offend patients" or "personal discomfort" (p = 0.258 and 0.125, respectively). Qualitative analysis revealed four strategies with direct and indirect approaches: (1) permission-giving, (2) self-awareness/use-of-self, (3) formal assessment, and (4) informal assessment. Training for providers should emphasize self-awareness to address intrapersonal barriers to improve the frequency and quality of spiritual care for cancer patients.

The effectiveness of spiritual intelligence educational interventions for nurses and nursing students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AIM

To synthesize the best available research evidence regarding the effectiveness of spiritual intelligence educational interventions on spiritual intelligence and professional outcomes in nurses and nursing students.

BACKGROUND

Spiritual intelligence is a form of intelligence with which individuals can deal with a crisis, alter situations, solve problems and achieve goals through a set of capacities and abilities. Possessing spiritual intelligence contributes to professional practice and competence in the workplace and has been seen to be beneficial for nurses and nursing students. Nursing interventions to teach and increase understanding of spiritual intelligence have been explored in the literature, but the effectiveness of spiritual intelligence training for nurses and nursing students remains uncertain.

DESIGN

A systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

A three-step systematized search of sixteen electronic English and Persian databases was conducted to identify randomized and non-randomized trials published in English and Persian from January 2000 to November 2021.

METHODS

The methodological quality of eligible studies was undertaken by two independent reviewers using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument. Meta-analyses were undertaken where appropriate using STATA v16.

RESULTS

Seven studies involving 512 participants were included. Pooled results demonstrated that those who received the educational intervention had significantly higher spiritual intelligence scores at 2 weeks (MD 13.38, 95 % CI: 5.76, 20.99) and one month follow up (MD 20.03, 95% CI: 6.61, 33.45) compared with those who did not. No difference in spiritual intelligence scores was observed among those who received spiritual intelligence education or life skills training (MD 7.52, 95 % CI -1.78, 16.82). Significantly higher communication skills (MD 5.41, 95 % CI: 2.16, 8.66), job satisfaction (MD; 11.30, 95 % CI: 8.63, 13.97) and spiritual care competence (MD; 28.55, 95 % CI: 26.08, 31.02) and decrease in overall stress (MD; 10.30, 95 % CI: 6.84, 13.76) among those who received the educational interventions were reported at the one-month follow-up. Significantly higher job satisfaction levels were also reported at 2-month follow-up among those who received the educational interventions (MD; 16, 95 % CI: 11.06, 20.94).

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence from this review demonstrates that spiritual intelligence educational interventions have a positive effect on spiritual intelligence and professional outcomes in nurses and nursing students. We noted that the outcomes in the studies included were mostly measured at one-month follow-up and with subjective measures. Longer trials with objective measures are required to provide higher levels of evidence. The results of this review are largely based on single trials and were limited in terms of the number of outcomes. Conducting further trials is warranted to identify the influence of such education on various professional outcomes in nursing practice.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

Systematic review and meta-analysis shows spiritual intelligence educational interventions have a positive effect on nurses' and nursing students' spiritual intelligence, work-related stress and professional practice.

Perceived professional competence in spiritual care and predictive role of spiritual intelligence in Iranian nursing students

AIM/OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between perceived competence in spiritual care and spiritual intelligence among nursing students.

BACKGROUND

One of the most important duties of nurses is to pay attention to the spiritual needs of patients and provide them with proper spiritual care. Therefore, professional competence in this area is essential for nurses and nursing students. Also, spiritual intelligence is a factor influencing the caring behaviors of nurses.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional and correlational study SETTINGS/PARTICIPANTS: This study was included 510 undergraduate nursing students in two public faculties of nursing in Iran in the 2018-2019 academic year.

METHODS

The samples were selected using a census method. A demographic information questionnaire, the valid and reliable Iranian questionnaire of nurses' competencies in spiritual care and the spiritual intelligence self-report inventory (SISRI) were used to collect data.

RESULTS

A significant positive correlation was found between nursing students' competence in spiritual care and spiritual intelligence (p < 0.001, r = 0.26). No significant differences were found between the mean competence scores of spiritual care in terms of demographic characteristics. There were significant differences between the mean spiritual intelligence score in terms of age, marital status, history of clinical practice and academic year. The regression model indicated that for increased rates of spiritual intelligence, professional competence in spiritual care would rise as much as 0.39.

CONCLUSION

Spiritual intelligence can affect the competence of nursing students in providing spiritual care to patients. Therefore, to promote students' spiritual intelligence, appropriate plans with the aim of promoting the level of critical thinking and spiritual self-awareness are recommended.