Professional competencies of nurses in providing spiritual care

Vollständiger Abstract

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Introduction. Spiritual needs are among the fundamental human needs, encompassing the spiritual realm and the emotional aspect of human existence. They are linked to the search for meaning, life’s purpose, relationships with others, and a relationship with God or a transcendent reality. Every member of the therapeutic team should recognise and support the spiritual dimension of a patient’s health, regardless of the patient’s religious beliefs. In clinical practice, it is often observed that patients’ spiritual needs are equated exclusively with religiosity or religious practices. As a result, responsibility for this area of care is shifted primarily to the clergy. Aim. To determine the level of competence of nursing staff in the area of spiritual care. Material and methods. Adiagnosticsurveywasused astheresearch method.Thetool used wasthe Spiritual Care CompetenceScale(SCCS), consisting of 27 questions divided into five subscales. The second tool was an original survey questionnaire comprising 10 single-choice closed-ended questions. Data collection was conducted online using the CAWI technique. The study sample consisted of 102 participants. Approval for the study was obtained from the Bioethics Committee of the State University of Applied Sciences in Krosno, No. 7/24. Results. The analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the nurses’ biological age and the following subscales: assessment and implementation of spiritual care (p<0.001), referral and consultation (p<0.001), professionalisation and improvement of the quality of spiritual care (p<0.001), and communication, individual support, and counselling (p=0.022). A statistically significant relationship also exists between years of experience and the following subscales: assessment and implementation of spiritual care (p=0.003), referral and consultation (p=0.039), and professionalisation and improvement of the quality of spiritual care (p=0.017). A statistically significant relationship was also found between nurses’ religious practices and the following subscales: assessment and implementation of spiritual care (p<0.001), referral and consultation (p<0.001), communication, individual support, and counselling (p=0.032), professionalisation and improvement of the quality of spiritual care (p<0.001). Conclusions. Nurses aged 30 and older with more than 10 years of work experience possess higher competencies in spiritual care. Nurses’ religious practices contribute to higher competencies in spiritual care.