Skip to main content
Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Impact of an online spiritual care course on perceived competency in spiritual care of students in social and health care professions / Wirksamkeit eines Online-Spiritual Care-Seminars auf die wahrgenommene Spiritual Care-Kompetenz bei Studierenden in Sozial- und Gesundheitsberufen Cover

Impact of an online spiritual care course on perceived competency in spiritual care of students in social and health care professions / Wirksamkeit eines Online-Spiritual Care-Seminars auf die wahrgenommene Spiritual Care-Kompetenz bei Studierenden in Sozial- und Gesundheitsberufen

International Journal of Health Professions
Volume 9 (2022): Issue 1 (January 2022)
By: ,   and    
Open Access
|Oct 2022
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Figure 1

Outcome variables.

Table 1

Description of study population.

VariablesIG, n = 78CG, n = 67p
Age in years, mean (SD; range)26.6 (8.2; 19–56)25.0 (6.9; 19–52).90 (t = .90) 2
Nationality*: German, %92%96%.54 (χ2 = 1,24)1
Gender*: female, n (%)63 (81%)50 (75%).13 (χ2 = 4.04) 1
Marital status*, %.85 (χ2 = 1.38) 1
single68%69%
married16%15%
Study subject*, n (%).00 (χ2 = 66.67) 1
medicine12 (15%)
nursing science5 (6%)
theology/religious education14 (18%)
healthcare sciences6 (8%)
social work31 (39%)67 (100%)
others (psychology, philosophy/medical ethics)6 (8%)
Semesters studied, mean (SD)5.5 (2.7)4.7 (2.0)1.82 (t = .07)2
Previous vocational training
In healthcare sector, %		31%27%.32 (χ2 = 2.27) 1
Self-assessed religiosity/spirituality (1 = not at all, 6 = completely true), mean (SD)
spiritual4.6 (1.3)3.7 (1.3).00 (t = 4.35)2
religious4.2 (1.4)3.4 (1.4).00 (t = 3.10)2
Religious preference, %.25 (χ2 = 6.67) 1
Catholic64%48%
Protestant15%28%
Muslim3%2%
other3%3%
none12%18%
Familiarity with spiritual care, %27%7%.00 (χ2 = 9.38) 1

IG = Intervention Group; CG = Comparison Group; SD = standard deviation

* Note. Beyond the presented options, individuals could choose the option “no reply” or “other”, rarely or not selected options (e.g., marital status: divorced, widowed; nationality: other – please specify; religious preference: Jewish)

1 Chi-square test,

2 independent-sample t-test.

Table 2

Reliability of scales.

MeasuresPre-test (Cronbach's α)Post-test (Cronbach's α)
IGCGIGCG
Spiritual care competency areas (12-ksa).63 – .68.57 – .75.60 – .71.57 – .72
Spiritual care competency facets (SCCQ).45 – .93.46 – .78.55 – .93.31 – .79
Spiritual sensitivity (SSS).42 – .74.30 – .72.56 – .77.50 – .72
Empathy (SPF).60 – .81.59 – .77.59 – .80.70 – .79
General self-efficacy (GSES).88.88.87.86

[i] 12-ksa= 12 items measuring knowledge, skills, attitudes concerning spiritual care; SCCQ= Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire; SSS= Spiritual Sensitivity Scale; SPF= Saarbrücker Persönlichkeitsfragebogen; GSES= General Self-Efficacy Scale; IG = Intervention Group; CG = Comparison Group

Table 3

Mean, standard deviations, and repeated measures analyses of variances (ANOVA) in spiritual care competency measures at baseline (T0) and after (T1) intervention (Intervention Group) or interim interval (Comparison Group).

MeasuresIG (n = 78)CG (n = 67)Time by intervention EffectaPartial η2
M (T0)SD (T0)M (T1)SD (T1)M (T0)SD (T0)M (T1)SD (T1)
Primary outcomes
Spiritual care competency areas (12-ksa)
Knowledge6.081.707.961.145.391.675.661.64F (1, 142) = 28.95***0.17
Skills6.231.577.561.335.561.695.841.57F (1, 142) = 15.53***0.10
Attitudes7.771.348.841.016.881.987.021.74F (1, 142) = 11.13***0.07
Spiritual care competency facets (SCCQ)
Perceptual competence3.090.493.260.412.810.592.790.59F (1, 143) = 3.610.03
Team-spirit1.750.632.090.701.560.581.660.60F (1, 142) = 4.38*0.03
Documentation competence1.400.622.840.851.220.401.370.46F (1, 143) = 87.45***0.38
Self-awareness and proactive opening2.710.612.930.532.180.672.240.63F (1, 141) = 3.290.02
Knowledge about other religions2.790.553.050.612.800.702.600.58F (1, 140) = 17.46***0.11
Competence in conversation technique3.450.603.530.473.270.623.220.61F (1, 140) = 1.710.01
Proactive empowerment competence2.750.673.030.582.270.792.300.72F (1, 141) = 3.460.02
Secondary outcomes
Spirituality-based component: Spiritual sensitivity (SSS)
Awareness sensing3.900.854.040.723.750.753.660.80F (1, 142) = 6.27*0.04
Mystery sensing4.060.574.120.613.790.593.750.65F (1, 142) = 1.100.01
Value sensing4.400.673.750.653.760.883.760.77F (1, 141) = 3.260.02
Community sensing3.940.843.850.843.340.903.390.94F (1, 141) = 1.300.01
Care-based component: Empathy (SPF)3.790.363.800.393.670.383.670.44F (1, 143) = 0.030.00
Competence-based component: General self-efficacy (GSES)2.880.453.000.392.900.442.910.37F (1, 143) = 5.71*0.04

12-ksa= 12 items measuring knowledge, skills, attitudes concerning spiritual care; SCCQ= Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire; SSS= Spiritual Sensitivity Scale; SPF= Saarbrücker Persönlichkeitsfragebogen; GSES= General Self-Efficacy Scale; IG = Intervention Group; CG = Comparison Group

Note.

* p < .05,

*** p < .001.

a Greenhouse-Geisser.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijhp-2022-0008 | Journal eISSN: 2296-990X
Journal RSS Feed
Language: English, German
Page range: 127 - 138
Submitted on: Sep 24, 2021
Accepted on: Aug 5, 2022
Published on: Oct 14, 2022
Published by: ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year
Keywords:
Spiritual care competency,
spirituality,
students in social and health care,
education,
online training,
effectiveness
Related subjects:
Medicine,
Clinical medicine,
Clinical medicine, other

© 2022 Susanne Magin, Eckhard Frick, Kathrin Maier, published by ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 9 (2022): Issue 1 (January 2022)
Previous article
Next article