Effects of an Online Spiritual Care Educational Initiative on Pediatric Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Competence

The provision of spiritual care is considered a vital part of holistic nursing care, for spirituality provides comfort, support, and a sense of connection.  Spirituality is universal to all individuals, regardless of age, religion, culture, or developmental stage.  When a child is nearing the end of life, spiritual care becomes paramount, for it provides the opportunity for enhanced coping as it reduces spiritual distress, allowing for growth in the midst of tragedy.  While spiritual care is implicit in holistic models of nursing care, gaps in knowledge and practice prevent children and their families from receiving adequate spiritual care at the end of life.  

This study was guided by the Actioning Spirituality and Spiritual Care Education and Training in Nursing Model.  This conceptual framework guides the provision of spiritual care training and initiates change in nurses’ knowledge and competence to provide spiritual care.  A 3-hour, theory-driven educational program based on the literature and the National Consensus Conference Guidelines for Improving Palliative Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care was developed with the assistance of interdisciplinary experts, children with cancer, and their families.  This study employed a prospective, longitudinal design to evaluate the effects of the online educational initiative on pediatric nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and spiritual care competence.  Nurses were recruited by email from membership of the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON).  Participants completed the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale, a 17-item Likert based instrument, and the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, a 27-item Likert-based instrument, at three time points: baseline, upon completion of the educational program, and 3-months post-completion of the program.  

Data is currently being analyzed.  Repeated measures ANOVA will evaluate the effect of the educational initiative on nurses’ perceived spiritual care competence at the 3 time points; post hoc analysis will be completed with Bonferroni correction.  Repeated measures ANOVA will evaluate the effect of the educational initiative on nurses’ attitudes towards and knowledge of spirituality/spiritual care at the three time points; post hoc analysis wil be completed with Bonferroni correction.  Regression analysis will determine if change in nurses’ attitudes towards and knowledge of spirituality/spiritual care predicts change in perceived level of spiritual care competence.