Spirituality and Healthcare—Common Grounds for the Secular and Religious Worlds and Its Clinical Implications

Measuring Spiritual Well-being using a numerical rating scale: Additional evidence of the validity of the Well-being Numerical Rating Scales (WB-NRSs)

The Well-being Numerical Rating Scales (WB-NRSs) can be used to assess rapidly and accurately different types of well-being. However, the spiritual well-being scale showed slightly weaker psychometric properties. This study aimed to further investigate its suitability in measuring spiritual well-being. Participants (N = 270, age: M = 32.98; SD = 15.64; 67% females) were administered a questionnaire including spiritual well-being, gratitude, compassionate love, and personality traits measures. A network analysis (based on correlations) was used to display graphically the pattern of relationships among the measured constructs (i.e. the nomological net). Results provided evidence that the scale measures spiritual well-being as defined in the literature, that is, a component distinct from faith and compassionate love, but connected to meaning in life, quality of relationships, personality traits, and gratitude. These findings confirm the WB-NRSs is a psychometrically sound and easy-to-use tool with clear benefits for both research and clinical assessment.

Validation of the Brief RCOPE in Portuguese Family Caregivers of Adults with Health Conditions

Background: Coping is a multifactorial and individual process related to responding to stressful situations, such as being a caregiver of a relative with health conditions. Spiritual/religious coping is an important internal resource used by individuals enduring stressful situations. The 14-item Brief RCOPE is a widely used instrument but not available in European Portuguese. Objective: To translate, adapt and validate the 14-item Brief RCOPE in Portuguese caregivers of an adult relative with a health condition. Method: The methodological guideline provided by Sousa and Rojjanasrirat was used to examine the psychometric properties of the Brief RCOPE. Results: The linguistic and conceptual equivalence of the scale was determined. The internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = 0.86). The Principal Axis Factor (PAF) analysis with varimax rotation identified two factors made up of 13 items, and one item was excluded from the scale. Conclusion: The European Portuguese version of the Brief RCOPE is a reliable and valid measure for assessing religious coping of family caregivers of adults with health conditions.

Spiritual Needs Assessment in Post-Secular Contexts: An Integrative Review of Questionnaires

Research across healthcare contexts has shown that, if provided appropriately, spiritual care can be of significant benefit to patients. It can be challenging, however, to incorporate spiritual care in daily practice, not least in post-secular, culturally entwined, and pluralist contexts. The aim of this integrative review was to locate, evaluate and discuss spiritual-needs questionnaires from the post-secular perspective in relation to their applicability in secular healthcare. Eleven questionnaires were evaluated and discussed with a focus on religious/spiritual (RS) wording, local culturally entwined and pluralist contexts, and on whether a consensual understanding between patient and healthcare professional could be expected through RS wording. By highlighting some factors involved in implementing a spiritual-needs questionnaire in diverse cultural and vernacular contexts, this article can assist by providing a general guideline. This article offers an approach to the international exchange and implementation of knowledge, experiences, and best practice in relation to the use of spiritual needs-assessment questionnaires in post-secular contexts.