A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study of Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Occupational Therapy Education

Abstract

Mthembu, T.G. et al. (2016). A cross-sectional descriptive study of occupational therapy students' perceptions and attitudes towards spirituality and spiritual care in occupational therapy education. Journal of religion and Health, 55: 1529Health, 55: -1545 Abstract Spirituality and spiritual care both have received increased attention over the course of this past decade from different disciplines. However, for many years, in the occupational therapy profession, the importance of spirituality and spiritual care seems to be controversial because it is unclear how these concepts are integrated in occupational therapy education. Although occupational therapy students are being educated to consider a holistic and client-centred approach, spirituality is not regarded within this framework which diminishes the integrity of holistic approach. In South African occupational therapy education, it is unclear whether any single course on teaching and learning of spirituality and spiritual care exists. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe occupational therapy students' perceptions and attitudes regarding spirituality and spiritual care in occupational therapy education. A cross-sectional descriptive study design of undergraduate occupational therapy students from one educational institution was used. Data included demographic characteristics, responses on Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS), Spiritual and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) and Spirituality in Occupational Therapy Scale (SOTS). A response rate of 50.5 % (n = 100 out of 198) was achieved. In the SCGS, among the factors only factor 1 had the highest mean value score showing consistent agreement about spirituality, whereas in the SSCRS only three factors were found to have highest mean score and one with lowest mean score. In SOTS, participants had a highest score mean in relation to formal education and training about spirituality. Thus, in the integration of spirituality and spiritual care a holistic approach needs to be considered in education to enhance students' knowledge of how to address mind, body and spirit needs. IntroductionSpirituality and spiritual care both have received increased attention over the course of this past decade from different disciplines. With regard to the definition of spirituality, research has shown that there are various definitions used. For instance, Csontó (2009) and Kang (2003) point out that the scarcity of an acceptable definition of spirituality results in a challenge for practising students and occupational therapists. Therefore, for the purpose of this study Puchalski et al.'s (2014) definition was adopted defining spirituality as:

An exploratory factor analysis into the applicability of the Spirituality Care-Giving Scale, the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale and the Spirituality in Occupational Therapy Scale to the South African context

“…Factor 4 (Clients' spiritual needs) had two variables related to spirituality which involve clients' and clinician responsibilities. These findings support the assertion of Hammel 30, and Mthembu, Roman and Wegner 32 that client-centred practice should enhance collaborative partnerships between occupational therapists and clients to promote autonomy, choice and control, as well as respect for clients' abilities.…”

Attitudes towards spirituality and spiritual care among nursing employees in hospitals

“…The answers by the nursing care employees included in the study regarding the first part of SSCRS have shown an understanding of spiritual care in nursing especially as being kind, caring, spending more time with an individual patient, being supportive and respecting the patient's privacy, their dignity, and religious and cultural beliefs. Other research conducted by means of the SSCRS questionnaire in various cultural and religious environments has also shown that the nursing staff generally consider that the attitude towards patients (care, optimism, support) and therapeutic communication were the key elements of spiritual care in nursing (Kostak & Celikkalp, 2016;Kaddourah, et al, 2018) and in other health care fields such as occupational therapy (Mthembu, et al, 2016).…”

“…Odgovori anketiranih zaposlenih v zdravstveni negi na prvi sklop SSCRS kažejo razumevanje duhovne oskrbe v zdravstveni negi predvsem kot izražanje prijaznosti, skrbi, posvečanje časa pacientu, podpore ter spoštovanja zasebnosti pacientov, njihovega dostojanstva ter verskih in kulturnih prepričanj. Tudi druge raziskave, opravljene v različnih kulturnih in verskih okoljih z vprašalnikom SSCRS, kažejo prevladujoče prepričanje zaposlenih v zdravstveni negi, da sta odnos do pacienta (skrb, izražanje pozitivnih čustev, podpora) in terapevtska komunikacija ključna elementa duhovne oskrbe v zdravstveni negi (Kostak & Celikkalp, 2016;Kaddourah, et al, 2018), pa tudi v drugih zdravstvenih strokah, na primer v delovni terapiji (Mthembu, et al, 2016).…”

Spiritual Care Perceptions of Baccalaureate Nursing Students

“…This 5-point Likerttype scale was designed to measure nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care within nursing. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from .64 to .76 have been reported for total scores (e.g., McSherry et al, 2002;Mthembu, Roman, & Wegner, 2016). Four identified subscales included spirituality, spiritual care, religiosity, and personalized care.…”