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Lucchetti G, Lucchetti ALG, Vitorino LM, Martin EZ, de Araujo Almeida PO, Damiano BBF, Alvarenga WDA, Damiano RF. Quantitative and Qualitative Research in the Field of 'Spirituality and Health': An Introductory How-to-Guide from a Brazilian Perspective. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2024:10.1007/s10943-024-02086-5. [PMID: 39033480 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02086-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
The present article aims to describe the different steps on how to design, develop and conduct quantitative and qualitative Spirituality and Health (S/H) studies from a Brazilian perspective, discussing definitions and instruments, and proposing a "how-to guide" for those interested in this field of research. A narrative review of the literature has been conducted by experts in the field of S/H aiming to develop a "how-to-guide". Spirituality is a very complex concept that has several challenges in the current scientific literature, including the lack of consensus in the definitions, the numerous dimensions assessed, the diverse instruments for measurement, the criticisms from other scholars, the great diversity of religious and cultural traditions and the growing number of "spiritual but not religious" individuals. This review supports that S/H studies may follow the high scientific standards, using consolidated research procedures and solid methods for both qualitative and quantitative research. Some peculiarities of the research methods for this field are discussed. S/H research is still under development, and there are several future directions for S/H studies, aiming to minimize previous criticisms and generating stronger evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giancarlo Lucchetti
- School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil
| | | | | | - Elena Zuliani Martin
- School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
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Vitorino LM, Machado Teixeira PH, Dominato PC, de Azevedo MPC, Resende MM, Lucchetti G. The effectiveness of spiritual care training on medical students' self-reported competencies: A quasi-experimental study. Palliat Support Care 2024; 22:251-257. [PMID: 37042249 DOI: 10.1017/s1478951523000408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effectiveness of spiritual care training on medical students' self-reported competencies. METHODS This is a quasi-experimental (controlled and non-randomized) study including 115 Brazilian medical students. Participants were enrolled into 2 groups: fourth-year students (n = 64) who received spiritual care training and sixth-year students (n = 51) who did not receive this training - control group (i.e., usual teaching). Participants answered a self-reported Spiritual Care Competence Scale. Comparisons between groups were performed and effect sizes were reported. RESULTS Providing a spiritual care training resulted in significantly higher self-reported scores for the dimensions of "Assessment" (d = 0.99), "Improvement of care" (d = 0.69), "Counseling (d = 0.88)," "Referral" (d = 0.75), and "Total Spiritual Care" (d = 1.044) as compared to the control group. Likewise, 21 out of 27 items of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale were significantly higher for the intervention group, presenting effect sizes (d) ranging between 0.428 and 1.032. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS Medical students receiving spiritual care training showed greater self-reported competencies as compared to those in the usual teaching. These results reinforce the importance of promoting spirituality teaching in medical schools.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Giancarlo Lucchetti
- School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
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Cone PH, Lassche‐Scheffer J, Bø B, Kuven BM, McSherry W, Owusu B, Ross L, Schep‐Akkerman A, Ueland V, Giske T. Strengths and challenges with spiritual care: Student feedback from the EPICC Spiritual Care Self-Assessment Tool. Nurs Open 2023; 10:6923-6934. [PMID: 37475149 PMCID: PMC10495739 DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM To explore qualitative data from students' self-reported competencies in spiritual care gathered during testing of a student self-assessment tool based on the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard. DESIGN Reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative data from a multinational study on validating a new self-assessment tool. METHODS The EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard for competency in spiritual care was developed to enhance nurses' and midwives' ability to provide spiritual care by creating a baccalaureate education standard for spiritual care competencies. Spiritual care researchers then developed a self-assessment tool to raise student awareness of spirituality and track personal and professional growth in spiritual care competency. The EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool, tested at eight universities in five countries, provided many opportunities for student comments, resulting in rich qualitative data presented here. RESULTS Themes related to strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. Identified strengths were similar across countries: caring attitudes, general knowledge of caring and compassion and good communication skills. Weaknesses/challenges touched on spirituality as overlooked in some cultures but part of life for others, complex questions were hard to understand, and self-assessment tools are common for some and rare for others. Areas for improvement included need for knowledge of religious and other deeply held beliefs and for greater spiritual assessment skills. Similarities across countries related to basic training in communication and compassionate care for nurses globally. Differences lay in the challenges and/or barriers for spiritual care and may relate to cultures within countries and/or university test sites. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The Tool raises awareness of spirituality among students and working nurses, providing an accessible way to self-check personal and professional growth in spiritual care competencies, which increases student and nurse capacity to become more knowledgeable and skilled in facilitating spiritual care, thus be role models for students at the intersection of spirituality and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela H. Cone
- School of NursingAzusa Pacific UniversityGreater Los AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- VID Specialized UniversityBergenNorway
| | - Joanne Lassche‐Scheffer
- Nursing Academy of Health CareViaa Christian University of Applied SciencesZwolleThe Netherlands
| | - Bodil Bø
- Faculty of Health SciencesUniversity of StavangerStavangerNorway
| | - Britt Moene Kuven
- Western Norway University of Applied SciencesBergenNorway
- Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized UniversityBergenNorway
| | - Wilfred McSherry
- VID Specialized UniversityBergenNorway
- Department of Nursing, School of Health, Science and Wellbeing, Staffordshire University Stoke‐on‐TrentUniversity Hospitals of North Midlands NHS TrustStoke‐on‐Trent/StaffordUK
- Faculty of Health StudiesVID Specialized UniversityOsloNorway
| | - Benson Owusu
- School of Public Health, College of Health SciencesUniversity of GhanaAccraGhana
| | - Linda Ross
- School of Care Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & EducationUniversity of South WalesNewportUK
| | | | - Venke Ueland
- Faculty of Health SciencesUniversity of StavangerStavangerNorway
| | - Tove Giske
- Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized UniversityBergenNorway
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Kabakci EN, Çelik N. Adaptation into Turkish and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale. CENTRAL EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY 2022. [DOI: 10.15452/cejnm.2022.13.0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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Machul M, van Leeuwen R, Ozga D, Jurek K, Boczkowska S, Dobrowolska B. The level of spiritual care competence of Polish nurses and the psychometric properties of the spiritual care competence scale (SCCS). BMC Nurs 2022; 21:106. [PMID: 35524308 PMCID: PMC9073815 DOI: 10.1186/s12912-022-00889-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Providing effective spiritual nursing care requires development of professional competence which, when regularly evaluated, allows one to direct undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education in order to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes of nurses in the scope of spiritual care. AIM The aim of this study was to analyse the level of spiritual competence of professionally active nurses in Poland and, additionally, to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS). METHODS A cross-sectional study among Polish nurses (n = 343) was performed in accordance with the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology guidelines. RESULTS An exploratory factor analysis identified five factors with 27 items explaining a total variance of 64.75%. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.70 for 'Attitude toward the patient's spirituality' to 0.92 for 'Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care'. Nurses reported a high level of spiritual competence (104.39 points) with better results in 'Attitude toward the patient's spirituality' and 'Communication, personal support and patient counselling' than in the 'Assessment and implementation of spiritual care', 'Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care', and 'Referral, consultation and spiritual care'. Significant correlation was found between nurses' age, job seniority and spiritual competence, and between religiosity and spiritual competence. CONCLUSIONS The study showed satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, confirming its potential to measure the level of spiritual competence of nurses, both in education and research processes. SCCS-PL revealed five-factor structure with good internal consistency. The findings highlight the importance of providing professional education in respect of spiritual nursing care, especially in its practical dimension regarding skills development in which nurses obtained lower scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Machul
- Department of Holistic Care and Management in Nursing , Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica Str. 4-6, Lublin, Poland
| | - René van Leeuwen
- Faculty of Health Care, Viaa University of Applied Sciences Zwolle, Zwolle, Netherlands
| | - Dorota Ozga
- Institute of Health Science, University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Jurek
- Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, John Paul II Catholic University, Lublin, Poland
| | - Sylwia Boczkowska
- Department of Holistic Care and Management in Nursing , Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica Str. 4-6, Lublin, Poland
| | - Beata Dobrowolska
- Department of Holistic Care and Management in Nursing , Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica Str. 4-6, Lublin, Poland.
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Fang HF, Susanti HD, Dlamini LP, Miao NF, Chung MH. Validity and reliability of the spiritual care competency scale for oncology nurses in Taiwan. BMC Palliat Care 2022; 21:16. [PMID: 35114991 PMCID: PMC8815162 DOI: 10.1186/s12904-022-00903-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Nurses must have spiritual competence to provide holistic patient care. Therefore, the designed instrument to assess nurses’ competence could be a practical guide for health care professionals. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the spiritual care competency scale (SCCS) for oncology nurses in Taiwan. Methods This study used a convenience sample from a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan from November 2017 to February 2019, who were asked to complete the SCCS. We employed scale-content validity index (S-CVI). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was also used to evaluate the structural factor of SCCS. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) verified the construct validity of SCCS scale for oncology nurses in Taiwan. Test–retest reliability were also measured in this study at 2-week interval. Results The average S-CVI of SCCS was 0.96. The EFA produced four factors of 27 items, such as professionalization, improving the quality of spiritual care, personal support, patient counseling and referral, attitude towards patient spirituality and communication, assessment, implementation providing and evaluation of spiritual care. Fitting the 27 items yielded an acceptable model fit; X2/df = 2.41, RMSEA = 0.08, GFI = 0.80, AGFI = 0.80, CFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.92, NFI = 0.90, RFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.91, SRMR = 0.06. Cronbach’s alpha values were between 0.93 and 0.95, and the total Cronbach’s alpha was 0.96. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) scores were between 0.43 and 0.88. Conclusions The result of this study demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability for the SCCS in the nursing field in Taiwan. Implications for practice in this study serves as a reference for effectively evaluating nursing competency in spiritual care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Fen Fang
- Director of Administration Department, Taipei Cancer Center, Taipei Medical University, No. 250, Wu-Xing Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan.,Deputy Director of Cancer Center, Taipei Medical UniversityTaipei Medical University Hospital, No. 252, Wu-Xing Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Henny Dwi Susanti
- School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, No. 250, Wu-Xing Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
| | - Lindelwa Portia Dlamini
- School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, No. 250, Wu-Xing Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Nae-Fang Miao
- Post-Baccalaureate Program in Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, No. 250, Wu-Xing Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Min-Huey Chung
- School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, No. 250, Wu-Xing Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan. .,Department of Nursing, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, No. 291, Zhongzheng Rd., Zhonghe District, 23561, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
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Spirituality in the continuing education of healthcare professionals: An approach to palliative care. Palliat Support Care 2019; 17:662-667. [DOI: 10.1017/s1478951519000117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractObjectiveA major barrier to the adoption of an approach that integrates spirituality into palliative care is the lack of preparation/education of healthcare professionals on the topic. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a continuing education activity for healthcare professionals addressing spirituality and spiritual care provision to patients and families within palliative care.MethodWe conducted an intervention study using a quantitative pre- and posttest design in a convenience sample of 52 healthcare professionals. Participants completed the Brazilian version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale before and after attending a four-hour continuing education activity.ResultSignificant differences were observed between pre- and postintervention scores in the following dimensions: assessment and implementation of spiritual care, professionalization and improving the quality of spiritual care, personal support, and patient counseling (p < 0.001), and referral (p = 0.003).Significance of resultsThe results of this study provide preliminary evidence of a positive effect of this educational intervention on the development of the competences needed by healthcare professionals to deliver a comprehensive approach centered on the patient/family, which includes attention to spirituality and spiritual care in the decision-making process.
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