Assessment of Spiritual Care Competency among Nurses in Sultan Ahmad Shah Medical Centre: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Spiritual care, which is considered a significant part in holistic nursing care, involves nurses to fulfill the patients with emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs. Spiritual care competency is an important aspect in maximizing the quality of care to the patients and encouraging professionalism. This study aimed to assess the level of spiritual care competency among nurses in SASMEC, and association between sociodemographic factors with the level of spiritual care competency. This was a quantitative cross-sectional study conducted among 155 nurses from SASMEC IIUM using self-administered questionnaires, which included sociodemographic factors, Spiritual Care Competency Scale (SCCS). Descriptive statistics, Chi Square Test, and Pearson Correlation Test were used in data analysis via SPSS version 27. The majority of the nurses in SASMEC IIUM perceived high levels of competency (99.4%). The highest mean difference among the domains were assessment and implementation of spiritual care, (MD=12.368), and personal support and patient counseling (MD=12.368) while the lowest mean difference was communication (MD=4.155). Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between spiritual care competence and sociodemographic factors (age, marital status, educational level, nurses' experience, race, religion, and previous participation in training spiritual care programs), except for gender (p<0.05) in which female acquired higher competency level than male. This study may help healthcare organizations and educational institutions to develop and implement strategies in enhancing and polishing the standard of spiritual care among nurses.  Future studies are recommended to explain the natural association between sociodemographic factors and spiritual care competence.