Original title
Spiritual well-being, perceived competence, practice, and barriers to providing spiritual care among oncology nurses in Oman.
English abstract
Background: Limited studies have evaluated spiritual care for oncology nurses in Oman. As the prevalence of cancer increases, the spiritual needs of oncology patients must be highlighted, addressed, and dealt with. Spiritual care should be given at any stage of cancer care, from the initiation of chemotherapy to the end stage of the disease. Therefore, oncology nurses require an empirical model to enhance their spiritual wellbeing, guide their practice, and assist them in promoting and providing the best spiritual care.
Purpose: To assess spiritual well-being, perceived competence, practice, and barriers to providing spiritual care among oncology nurses in Oman.
Method: A descriptive correlational survey was conducted among 422 oncology nurses from the following three cancer centres in Oman: Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Centre, Royal Hospital, and Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. Spiritual well-being was assessed using the Spiritual Well-Being
Scale (SWBS), spiritual care competence using the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS), and spiritual care frequency using the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS). Conversely, the barriers to providing spiritual care were determined utilizing the Spiritual Care Practice Questionnaire Part II. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the predictors of spiritual well-being and the barriers to providing spiritual care. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the relationship between spiritual well-being and spiritual care. A p value of <0.05 was set as the significance level.
Results: The participants exhibited high levels of spiritual well-being, with a mean score of 102.1 and a standard deviation (SD) of 14.7. The religious well-being subscale had a mean score of 52.4 (SD = 7.8), while the existential well-being subscale had a mean score of 49.6 (SD = 7.8). The mean SCCS score was 96.1 (SD = 19.1), indicating a moderate level of spiritual care competence. The participants typically provided spiritual care once or twice every 72 h. The mean NSCTS score was 37.6 (SD = 13.1), showing that spiritual care was not frequently practised by the participants. The most common barriers to providing spiritual care were the belief that patients’ spirituality is private and beyond nurses’ duty (59.5%), a lack of time for providing spiritual care (54.7%), difficulty in distinguishing proselytizing from spiritual care delivery (48.8%), and difficulty in addressing spiritual needs (48.8%). A strong positive correlation was found between the total SWBS score and the total SCCS score (r = 0.25, p = 0.01), indicating that the participants with higher levels of spiritual well-being tended to have more experience providing spiritual care than their counterparts. Three key predictors of spiritual well-being were identified: barriers to providing spiritual care (95% confidence interval [CI] = −3.05 to −1.48, p = 0.000), spiritual care competence (95% CI = 0.08 to 0.22, p = 0.000), and prior oncology training (95% CI = 0.49 to 6.07, p = 0.021).
Conclusion: Oncology nurses in Oman exhibit high levels of spiritual well-being and moderate levels of spiritual care competence. Spiritual well-being and spiritual care competence are significantly associated with each other. The three key predictors of spiritual well-being among these nurses are barriers to providing spiritual care, spiritual care competence, and prior oncology training. These results underscore the importance of addressing the spiritual health of oncology nurses in Oman, who play a pivotal role in oncology care and treatment.
