Measures of spirituality for use in military contexts: a scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this scoping review is to identify measures of spiritual fitness that can be used in a military context. Methods: Two independent reviewers applied post-hoc inclusion and exclusion criteria for the identification of relevant articles, reviews, and assessments. Each reviewer independently recorded criteria met using a jointly developed form, considering relevant spiritual fitness screening and assessment tools based on clinical experience. When two reviewers were in disagreement, a third blinded reviewer was used to create consensus. Results: 35 assessments with psychometric properties were identified that could be administered by military chaplains, health care professionals, or military personnel (through self-reporting) to evaluate spiritual fitness over time among those in the military service. The assessments were compiled into a table to isolate differing properties of each assessment, including target population, length/time to complete, measurement of affective, behavioural, and cognitive aspects of spiritual fitness, psychometric properties, and example questions. Discussion: There is now an opportunity to further identify and evaluate spiritual fitness screening and assessment tools that will appropriately and effectively determine the spiritual fitness and resilience of individuals serving in the military as well as their families.

The accuracy of measures in screening adults for spiritual suffering in health care settings: A systematic review

“…The identified need for specialized spiritual care can then be made explicit in the patient's medical file and better integrated into care offered by the multidisciplinary team (Agora Spiritual Care Guideline, 2013; Puchalski et al, 2009). A number of measures have been identified in previous reviews that assess different aspects of spirituality (Best et al, 2015; Brémault-Phillips, Sacrey, Olson, Weis & Cherwick, 2016). Measures that have been tested for accuracy of screening spiritual suffering, however, have not been systematically identified or evaluated.…”

An advanced perspective on moral challenges and their health-related outcomes through an integration of the moral distress and moral injury theories

“…However, often the options available to officers and soldiers have proven relatively few and the individual is not always in a position where he or she can choose, but rather has to make decisions that violate their own morals and standards. Previous research has repeatedly shown that moral tradeoffs can be costly for the human soul (Brémault-Phillips et al, 2017 ; Brock & Lettini, 2012 ; Drescher & Foy, 2008 ; Graham, 2017 ; Grimell, 2018b ; Moon, 2019 ; Tick, 2005 ; Vargas, Hanson, Kraus, Drescher, & Foy, 2013 ).…”