The level of spiritual care competence of Polish nurses and the psychometric properties of the spiritual care competence scale (SCCS)

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.

Factors affecting spiritual care competency of mental health nurses: a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study

“…The current study, which also investigated the relationships between demographic data and spiritual care competency, showed that postgraduate education and a longer working experience were linked to better spiritual care competency. The finding of a positive association between better spiritual care competency and a longer work experience was highly consistent with that in most previous studies [ 28 , 30 , 31 ], while postgraduate education was found to positively correlate with spiritual care competency in one report [ 28 ] but not investigated in the other two studies [ 30 , 31 ]. this may suggest that work experience may be an important universal factor associated with spiritual care competency of nurses.…”

“…With regard to comparing our results with those of previous studies, the present investigation showed a mean overall item score of 3.46 ± 0.60 out of a full score of 5 (i.e., percentage score: 69.20%), which was similar to that of a number of previous studies [ 28 – 31 , 33 , 35 , 45 ] that reported a percentage score ranging from 70% [ 45 ] to 77.3% [ 30 ]. While the previous studies covered a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and nurses from different health sectors [ 28 – 31 , 33 , 35 , 45 ], our results were closest to those of a study with the same ethnic background that reported a score of 70% despite its focusing on nurses of different subspecialties [ 45 ].…”

“…There were several limitations in the present study; first, because cultural factors may have a strong influence on the interpretation of spirituality and also on the perception of spiritual caring behaviors [ 47 ], our results may not be extrapolated to mental health nurses from different cultural backgrounds. On the other hand, our findings of an association of better spiritual care competency with a longer work experience [ 28 , 30 , 31 ], and experience of spiritual care practice, as well as previous participation in relevant educational programs [ 28 , 29 , 31 , 35 ] were highly consistent with those of previous studies, suggesting a universality of the correlations. Second, the cross-sectional nature of the study design could only provide information about the correlation between different factors and spiritual care competency rather than establish a causal relationship.…”

Assessment of Spiritual Care Practices Among Nurses Caring for Cancer Patients in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

“…Some scales have been developed to evaluate the nurses’ competence, skills, and knowledge of spiritual care ( Machul et al, 2022 ). Daghan et al (2019) developed a scale for assessing the spiritual care competency of nurses with high reliability and validity.…”

Improving psychiatric nurses’ competencies in spiritual care and integration of clients’ religion/spirituality into mental healthcare: outcomes of an online spiritual care training program

“…In response to spiritual needs, the SC is considered to recognize what clients have not received. Spirituality and its nature in nursing are associated with the concept of competencies in SC and the integration of clients' S/R into practice, which are defined as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to develop SC [7]. Another definition maintains that competencies in SC and integration of clients' S/R into practice include nursing interventions or activities that help clients achieve physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being [8].…”