Assessing the Effect of Spiritual Intelligence Training on Spiritual Care Competency in Critical Care Nurses

Aim & Objective: Due to the importance of spiritual care as a part of holistic care, this study aimed to investigate the effect of spiritual intelligence training on the nurses' competence in spiritual care in critical care units. Methods: The study was performed on 82 nurses (40 in the experimental group and 42 in the control group). Participants were selected from critical care units of teaching hospitals affiliated to Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. The experimental group took part in eight sessions of spiritual intelligence training, held in the form of workshops. In the control group, no intervention was made. The scale for assessing nurses' competencies in spiritual care was completed before, immediately and one month after the sessions in two groups. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 15. Results: The results showed that spiritual intelligence training had a positive effect on nurses' competence in spiritual care. Also, 89% of the nurses who participated in the study had not been given any prior education regarding spiritual care. Nurses considered barriers to spiritual care including inadequate staff, cultural differences, high workload and lack of education on this subject. Conclusions: The present results showed that the training of spiritual intelligence could develop the nurses' competence in spiritual care. The development of spiritual care provided by nurses can result in various outcomes such as increased satisfaction with care in patients, reduced anxiety and symptoms of depression during hospitalization, reduced length of hospitalization and, in general, improved quality of life.