Spiritual Needs Assessment in Post-Secular Contexts: An Integrative Review of Questionnaires

Abstract

Research across healthcare contexts has shown that, if provided appropriately, spiritual care can be of significant benefit to patients. It can be challenging, however, to incorporate spiritual care in daily practice, not least in post-secular, culturally entwined, and pluralist contexts. The aim of this integrative review was to locate, evaluate and discuss spiritual-needs questionnaires from the post-secular perspective in relation to their applicability in secular healthcare. Eleven questionnaires were evaluated and discussed with a focus on religious/spiritual (RS) wording, local culturally entwined and pluralist contexts, and on whether a consensual understanding between patient and healthcare professional could be expected through RS wording. By highlighting some factors involved in implementing a spiritual-needs questionnaire in diverse cultural and vernacular contexts, this article can assist by providing a general guideline. This article offers an approach to the international exchange and implementation of knowledge, experiences, and best practice in relation to the use of spiritual needs-assessment questionnaires in post-secular contexts.

Spiritual needs in Denmark: a population-based cross-sectional survey linked to Danish national registers

“… 14 The FICA spiritual history tool, 48 and the shortened Spiritual Needs Screener are other examples. 49 These needs may then be further elaborated by other caregivers or quantified through standardised instruments (such as the more comprehensive SpNQ 30 or other measures 27 ).…”

“…For this study, we were interested in a tool that, being more directly clinically transferrable, measured ‘spiritual needs’. 27 One of the most widely used instruments to do this is the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ). 28 The SpNQ (20 items), which has been psychometrically validated in a variety of populations and languages, measures spiritual needs in four main dimensions originally identified through exploratory factor analysis (see Box 1 ): (1) ‘religious needs,’ which cover needs related to the transcendent, e.g., God, Allah, the Universe, or other higher power, as well as needs related to religious communities and practices; (2) ‘existential needs,’ which cover those related to reflections on life and death, meaning in life, etc.…”

A Physical Therapist's Role in Providing a Trauma-Informed, Whole-Body, Holistic Approach to Address the Spiritual and Mental Health of Patients

“…40 Questionnaires can provide insight into both mental health status and cultural, spiritual preferences. 19,41 There are several options for spiritual questionnaires; however, most use reference words, which may favor specific religions, thus excluding spiritual minorities, and biasing toward specific religions. 41 For example, the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire for Palliative Care, which was created in a highly Catholic area, has several Christian-based reference words, while the Holistic Health Status Questionnaire, created in Hong Kong, specifically mentions karma.…”

Instruments for assessing the spiritual needs of cancer patients: A systematic review of psychometric properties

“…Previous reviews have identified several instruments for evaluating different aspects of spirituality, such as spiritual distress and needs (Bahraini et al, 2020; Best et al, 2015; Nissen et al, 2021; Seddigh et al, 2016). Spiritual distress has a nursing diagnosis of impaired ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life (Schultz et al, 2017).…”

“…Nevertheless, spiritual needs instruments applicable to cancer patients have not been identified and synthesised in existing literature reviews on spiritual needs instruments. Furthermore, no systematic review of the psychometric qualities of these instruments has been conducted (Nissen et al, 2021; Seddigh et al, 2016).…”