Table 3.
Summary of Studies
| Authors/year published/country | Study purpose, design, and setting | Sample |
Intervention provided by nurses |
Outcome measures | Results |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention, n | Control, n | Spiritual | Control | Intervention, mean (SD) | Control, mean (SD) | Treatment Effect, p | |||
| Wu and Koo, 2015, Taiwan7 | Purpose: Investigate the effects of a 6-week spiritual reminiscence intervention on hope, life satisfaction, and spiritual well-being on elderly patients (≥65 yo) with mild/moderate dementia Design: RCT Setting: Geriatric unit Hospital |
n = 53: 64% female, mean age 73.5 (7.3) yo and 70% attending religious activities regularly | n = 50: 74% female, mean age 73.6 (7.6) yo and 68% attending religious activities regularly | Type: Existential Description: Spiritual reminiscence intervention. Six weekly sessions (60 minutes) of scrapbooks, handicrafts, autobiographical writing, observation of growth of plants, storytelling, and singing. These activities were based on MacKinlay's spiritual tasks of the aging model (1. Meaning in life; 2. Relationships and isolation; 3. Hopes, fears, and worries; 4. Growing older and transcendence; 5. Spiritual and religious beliefs; 6. Spiritual and religious practices) Format: Group (3–6 individuals) |
Description: Routine care | Primary Herth Hope Scale No. of items: 12 Response format: 4-point scale IC: 0.89 LSS No. of items: 18 Response format: agree, disagree, or unsure IC: 0.82 Spirituality Index of Well-Being No. of items: 12 Response Format: 5-point scale IC: 0.91 Measured at baseline (start of week 1 session) and post-test (end of week 6 session) |
Hope | ||
| 38.5 (4.6) | 35.6 (3.8) | NR; <0.001a,b | |||||||
| Life satisfaction | |||||||||
| 26.4 (5.7) | 24.1 (5.0) | NR; <0.001a,b | |||||||
| Spiritual well-being | |||||||||
| 40.1 (8.0) | 36.7 (7.1) | NR; <0.001a,b | |||||||
| Kwan et al., 2019, Hong Kong31 | Purpose: Examine the effectiveness and applicability of a short-term life review to enhance spiritual well-being and reduce anxiety and depression among adults receiving palliative care Design: RCT Setting: Palliative care units and hospitals |
n = 54: 48% male, 61% married, 33% 61–70 yo, 46% had no religious affiliation | n = 55: 65% male, 78% married, 25% 61–70 yo, 49% had no religious affiliation | Type: Existential Description: Life review. Explore patient's life stories using structured questions, life review booklet with pictures and photographs to enrich the presentation and recall past events with two 45-minute communication sessions 1 week apart Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | Primary MQOL-HK No. of items: 17 Response format: 0–10 score Domain: Spiritual IC: 0.83 HADS No. of items: 7/7 Response format: 4-point scale Domains: Anxiety and depression IC: NR Measured at baseline and post-test (1 week later) |
Spiritual well-being (MQOL-HK spiritual) | ||
| Meaning and purpose | |||||||||
| 6.1 (2.8) | 5.8 (3.2) | 0.5; 0.404a,b | |||||||
| Life goals achieved | |||||||||
| 7.2 (2.1) | 5.6 (2.9) | 1.3; 0.002a,b | |||||||
| Feeling that life is worthwhile | |||||||||
| 6.2 (2.9) | 5.5 (3.1) | 0.6; 0.209a,b | |||||||
| Feeling good about myself | |||||||||
| 7.5 (1.9) | 5.7 (3.0) | 1.3; 0.008a,b | |||||||
| Feeling burdened | |||||||||
| 7.6 (3.2) | 7.1 (3.3) | 0.7; 0.334a,b | |||||||
| Anxiety (HADS) | |||||||||
| 2.4 (3.3) | 3.6 (3.7) | −0.3; 0.681a,b | |||||||
| Depression (HADS) | |||||||||
| 8.3 (5.0) | 8.6 (4.9) | −0.3; 0.646a,b | |||||||
| Ayyari et al., 2020, Iran35 | Purpose: Evaluate the effects of 1-month spiritual interventions on the happiness of elderly women (>60 yo) Design: RCT Setting: Nursing home |
n = 19: Mean age 77.9 (7.6) yo, 84% widowed. 84% illiterate, and 63% had active participation in religious rituals | n = 19: Mean age 80.9 (10.0) yo, 84% widowed. 95% illiterate, and 68% had active participation in religious rituals | Type: Existential/Religious Description: Spiritual Health Service. Every day for 4 weeks, acts of worship and religious rituals (e.g., turbah, praying rug, chador, Quran, and Mafatih). Active listening, supportive presence, and motivation for the elderly to write pleasant memories and life events Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | Oxford Happiness Questionnaire No. of items: 29 Response Format: 6-point scale IC: 0.97 Measured at baseline and post-test (immediate and 1 month later) |
Happiness | ||
| Pretest: 45.7 (14.1) Immediately post-test: 65.1 (9.9) 1 month post-test: 64.70 (9.7) |
Pretest: 36.5 (11.9) Immediately post-test: 35.3 (9.4) 1 month post-test: 35.1 (8.9) |
NR; 0.900a,c,d | |||||||
| Mok et al., 2012, Hong Kong32 | Purpose: Develop the meaning of life intervention in response to the need for quality of life among patients with advanced-stage cancer receiving palliative care Design: RCT Setting: Oncology ward hospital |
n = 44: 55% male, 64% married, mean age 64.0 (12.4) yo, and 50% of them had no religious affiliation | n = 40: 53% male, 78% married, mean age 65.3 (10.9) yo, and 45% had no religious affiliation | Type: Existential Description: Meaning of Life intervention. Two sessions over 2–3 days (15–60 minutes) involving a semistructured interview to facilitate the search for meaning and review of a summary sheet findings. Activities of the meaning of life proposed in logotherapy and creative, experiential, and attitudinal values Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | QOLC-E No. of items: 28 Response format: 11-point scale IC: 0.56 Single-item QOL scale No. of items: 1 (measure of global QOL) Response format: 11-point scale IC: NR Measured at baseline and post-test (1 day and 2 weeks later) |
Quality of life | ||
| QOLC-E | |||||||||
| Pretest: 6.3 (1.1) D1 post-test: 7.1 (1.0) W2 post-test: 7.1 (1.1) |
Pretest: 6.7 (1.2) D1 post-test: 6.9 (1.3) W2 post-test: 6.8 (1.4) |
0.5; <0.050c,e | |||||||
| Single-item QOL | |||||||||
| Pretest: 5.1 (1.6) D1 post-test: 6.2 (1.5) W2 post-test: 6.3 (1.8) |
Pretest: 6.1 (1.8) D1 post-test: 5.7 (1.5) W2 post-test: 6.0 (2.1) |
0.8; <0.050c,e | |||||||
| Stinson and Kirk, 2005, US40 | Purpose: Evaluate the effects of group reminiscing on depression and self-transcendence of elderly women (≥60 yo) Design: RCT Setting: Assisted living facility |
n = 12: All were Caucasian female. Age varied from 72 to 96 yo |
n = 12: All were female. Age 72–90 yo, and 11 of them were Caucasian | Type: Existential Description: Structured reminiscence. Twice weekly sessions (60 minutes) for 6 weeks of reminiscence sessions, including 1. antecedent, 2. individual assessment, 3. establishing the therapeutic, 4. choosing a reminiscence therapy modality (recommendations of the NIC), and 5. outcome measurements Format: Group (size NR) |
Description: Activity | Primary GDS No. of items: 30 Response Format: yes/no IC: 0.94 STS No. of items: 15 Response Format: 4-point scale IC: 0.93 Measured at baseline and post-test (3 and 6 weeks later) |
Depression | ||
| Pretest: 7.7 (NR) W3 post-test: 6.9 (NR) W6 post-test: 8.5 (NR) |
Pretest: 12.9 (NR) W3 post-test: 11.0 (NR) W6 post-test: 10.0 (NR) |
NR; 0.190a,c | |||||||
| Self-transcendence | |||||||||
| Pretest: 3.0 (NR) W3 post-test: 3.3 (NR) W6 post-test: 3.1 (NR) |
Pretest: 2.8 (NR) W3 post-test: 2.6 (NR) W6 post-test: 3.0 (NR) |
NR; 0.150a,c | |||||||
| Musarezaie et al., 2015, Iran37 | Purpose: Determine the effects of a spiritual intervention on spiritual well-being among adults diagnosed with leukemia Design: RCT Setting: Oncology ward hospital |
n = 32: 59% male, 68% married, and mean age 41.7 (17.2) yo. 47% had not finished high school | n = 32: 63% male, 84% married, and mean age 41.6 (13.5) yo. 50% had not finished high school | Type: Existential/Religious Description: Spiritual based intervention. Supportive presence (active listening) and support for religious rituals (listening and reading to the Quran and pray) for 3 days at 4–8 pm Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale No. of items: 20 Response format: 6-point scale IC: 0.82 Measured at baseline and post-test |
Spiritual well-being | ||
| 93.6 (14.7) | 89.3 (18.4) | NR; <0.001f | |||||||
| Babamohamadi et al., 2020, Iran36 | Purpose: Investigate the effect of spiritual care based on the sound heart model on the spiritual health of Shi'a Muslim patients hospitalized with acute MI Design: RCT Setting: hospital CCU |
n = 46: 50% female, 89% married, mean age 61.3 (8.9) yo. 41% had finished high school | n = 46: 50% female, 91% married, mean age 62.7 (6.9) yo. 41% had finished high school | Type: Existential/Religious Description: Sound heart spiritual care model. An educational booklet containing the program of spiritual care based on the sound heart model: God (worship and prayer), oneself (meditation), others (charitable expenditure, family), and environment. After reading the booklet, the patients selected their desired spiritual care implemented for periods at 5–8 pm during the hospital stay and 1 month after discharge Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale No. of items: 20 Response Format: 6-point scale IC: 0.85 Measured at baseline and post-test (1 month later) |
Spiritual well-being | ||
| 96.0 (12.4) | 78.0 (19.4) | NR; <0.001g | |||||||
| Wang et al., 2010, Taiwan33 | Purpose: Test the clinical use of the gerotranscendence and its influence on gerotranscendence, depression, and life satisfaction of elderly (≥65yo) Design: RCT Setting: Assisted living facilities and nursing home |
n = 35: Mean age 80.5 (7.3). 60% female, 46% widowed, and 46% Buddhist | n = 41: Mean age 80.5 (7.3). 63% female, 51% widowed, and 56% Buddhist | Type: Existential Description: Gerotranscendence support group. Therapy manual to guide the group discussions related to aging signs and changes based on the cosmic, self, and social dimensions of GT. They could raise questions, interact with others, and exchange opinions on aging, transcendence, life, death, and weekly sessions (60 minutes) for 8 weeks Format: Group (8–12 per group) |
Description: Routine care and weekly general chatting activities for 30 minutes | Primary GTS No. of items: 10 Response format: score range from 10 to 40 points Domains: Cosmic, Coherence, and Solitude IC: 0.56 Secondary GDS No. of items: 15 Response Format: yes/no IC: 0.89 LSS No. of items: 10 Response format: 5-point scale IC: 0.88 Measured at baseline and post-test |
Gerotranscendence | ||
| Cosmic | |||||||||
| 15.8 (2.8) | 12.5 (2.0) | NR; 0.001f | |||||||
| Coherence | |||||||||
| 6.5 (1.5) | 6.0 (1.6) | NR; 0.010f | |||||||
| Solitude | |||||||||
| 9.43 (1.36) | 8.7 (1.4) | NR; 0.010f | |||||||
| Life satisfaction | |||||||||
| 33.1 (5.2) | 29.8 (6.9) | NR; 0.001f | |||||||
| Depression | |||||||||
| 3.8 (3.2) | 4.7 (4.0) | NR; 0.050f | |||||||
| Butts, 2001, US6 | Purpose: Examine whether comfort touch improved the self-esteem, well-being, health status, life satisfaction, and faith and self-responsibility of elderly (≥65 yo) female nursing home residents Design: RCT Setting: Nursing homes |
n = 15h | C1: n = 15h C2: n = 15h |
Type: Existential Description: Comfort touch. Skin-to-skin touch in the form of handshaking and patting the hand, forearm, and shoulder with verbal interaction for the sole purpose of comfort and producing positive feelings for periods of 5 minutes twice a week for 4 weeks Format: Individual |
Description: C1: No treatment or interaction C2: Verbal interaction |
Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale No. of items: 10 Response format: 5-point scale IC: ranged from 0.88 to 0.90 Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale No. of items: 5/5 Response format: yes or no IC: 0.55 (Positive Affect) and 0.73 (Negative affect) Self-Evaluation of Health No. of items: NR Response Format: NR IC: NR JAREL Spiritual Well-Being Scale No. of items: 21 Response format: 6-point scale IC: NR Measured at baseline and post-test (2 and 4 weeks later) |
Self-esteem | ||
| Pretest: 29.3 (NR) W2 pos-test t: 36.0 (NR) W4 post-test: 37.5 (NR) |
Pretest: C1: 27.0 (NR) C2: 26.7 (NR) W2 post-test: C1: 27.3 (NR) C2: 28.2 (NR) W4 post-test: C1: 27.1 (NR) C2: 28.4 (NR) |
NR | |||||||
| Well-Being | |||||||||
| Pretest: 7.0 (NR) W2 post-test: 9.0 (NR) W4 post-test: 10.2 (NR) |
Pretest: C1: 7.7 (NR) C2: 6.6 (NR) W2 post-test: C1:7.7 (NR) C2: 7.3 (NR) W4 post-test: C1: 7.9 (NR) C2: 7.3 (NR) |
NR | |||||||
| Health Status | |||||||||
| Pretest: 1.6 (NR) W2 post-test: 2.1 (NR) W4 post-test: 2.3 (NR) |
Pretest: C1: 1.8 (NR) C2: 1.7 (NR) W2 post-test: C1: 1.8 (NR) C2: 1.7 (NR) W4 post-test: C1: 1.8 (NR) C2: 1.8 (NR) |
NR | |||||||
| Life satisfaction | |||||||||
| Pretest: 25.7 (NR) W2 post-test: 35.4 (NR) W4 post-test: 39.0 (NR) |
Pretest: C1: 26.6 (NR) C2: 24.3 (NR) W2 post-test: C1: 27.0 (NR) C2: 26.0 (NR) W4 post-test: C1: 27.0 (NR) C2: 27.0 (NR) |
NR | |||||||
| Faith or belief | |||||||||
| Pretest: 60.4 (NR) W2 post-test: 62.7 (NR) W4 post-test: 70.0 (NR) |
Pretest: C1: 62.1 (NR) C2: 58.9 (NR) W2 post-test: C1: 62.3 (NR) C2: 8.4 (NR) W4 post-test: C1: 61.8 (NR) C2: 60.5 (NR) |
NR | |||||||
| Pramesona and Taneepanichskul, 2018, Indonesia34 | Purpose: Investigate the effects of religious intervention on depressive symptoms and quality of life of elderly Design: Quasi-experimental Setting: Nursing home |
n = 30: 37% <80 yo, 42% female, 47% had no partner, 43% no or low education, 35% had <3physical illness |
n = 30: 40% <80 yo, 35% female, 45% had no partner, 45% no or low education, 25% had <3 physical illness | Type: Religious Description: Religious intervention. 36 sessions of listening to Qur'anic recital plus from 20- to 25-minute sessions of attending a sermon by a Muslim religious preacher/nurse Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care. Activities included praying, watching television, counseling, and playing or listening to music |
Primary GDS No. of items: 15 Response format: yes/no IC: 0.80 Secondary WHOQOL No. of items: 26 Response format: 0–100 IC: ranges between 0.41 and 0.77 Measured at baseline and post-test (4, 8 and 12 weeks later) |
Depression | ||
| Pretest: 6.6 (2.1) W4 post-test: 6.2 (2.0) W8 post-test: 5.3 (1.7) W12 post-test: 4.3 (1.2) |
Pretest: 7.4 (2.2) W4 post-test: 7.3 (2.2) W8 post-test: 6.8 (1.8) W12 post-test: 6.6 (1.7) |
NR; 0.170g NR; 0.042g NR; 0.002g NR; <0.001g |
|||||||
| Quality of life | |||||||||
| Pretest: 44.2 (5.3) W4 post-test: 47.3 (5.0) W8 post-test: 53.5 (4.8) W12 post-test: 58.9 (3.9) |
Pretest: 42.2 (4.1) W4 post-test: 44.2 (3.9) W8 post-test: 48.2 (3.1) W12 post-test: 51.3 (2.5) |
NR; 0.113c NR; 0.007c NR; <0.001c NR; <0.001c |
|||||||
| Ichihara et al., 2019, Japan25 | Purpose: Investigate the effects of spiritual care using the Spiritual Pain Assessment Sheet on spiritual well-being, quality of life, anxiety, and depression of advanced cancer patients Design: Quasi-experimental Setting: Hematology/oncology ward, and palliative care units |
n = 22: 59% male, 59% married, mean age of 65.6 (13.1) yo and 73% reported religious affiliation | n = 24: 50% male, 79% married, mean age of 71 (13.3) yo, and 71% reported religious affiliation | Type: Existential Description: Spiritual care using the Spiritual Pain Assessment Sheet. Evaluate spiritual pain and develop a plan of care based on current spiritual status (“Are you at peace?” and “What do you feel is valuable or meaningful from now on?”) and, subsequently, incorporating questions related to relationship, autonomy, and temporality dimensions (e.g., isolation, burden, dependency, loss of control in the future, and hopelessness) for 2 weeks Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care. Basic care for psychosocial and spiritual problems (i.e., listening, consulting with psychotherapist or chaplain as needed) | Primary FACIT-Sp scale No. of items: 12 Response format: 5-point scale IC: ranges between 0.72 and 0.87 Secondary CoQoLo No. of items: 18 Response format: 7-point scale IC: 0.90 HADS No. of items: 7/7 Response format: 4-point scale Domains: Anxiety and depression IC: NR Measured at baseline and post-test (2 weeks later) |
Spiritual well-being | ||
| Peace/meaning | |||||||||
| Pretest: 19.0 (5.2) W2 post-test: 20.1 (6.4) |
Pretest: 19.5 (5.5) W2 post-test: 13.9 (8.3) |
1.0; <0.010i,j | |||||||
| Faith | |||||||||
| Pretest: 7.8 (3.5) W2 post-test: 8.6 (4.3) |
Pretest: 8.0 (3.4) W2 post-test: 7.8 (3.5) |
0.7; 0.045i,j | |||||||
| Quality of life | |||||||||
| Pretest: 81.9 (14.0) W2 post-test: 82.8 (17.0) |
Pretest: 82.6 (12.8) W2 post-test: 78.2 (18.0) |
0.2; 0.540i,j | |||||||
| Anxiety (HADS) | |||||||||
| Pretest: 7.0 (3.8) W2 post-test: 4.7 (2.5) |
Pretest: 6.0 (4.0) W2 post-test: 7.4 (4.4) |
0.9; 0.010i,j | |||||||
| Depression (HADS) | |||||||||
| Pretest: 8.6 (4.3) W2 post-test: 7.4 (4.3) |
Pretest: 8.4 (4.2) W2 post-test: 9.6 (5.0) |
0.5; 0.100i,j | |||||||
| Elham et al., 2015, Iran3 | Purpose: Investigate the effects of spiritual/religious interventions on spiritual well-being and anxiety of patients with cardiovascular diseases (≥60 yo) Design: Quasi-Experimental Setting: CCU hospital |
n = 33: 55% male, 58% married. 76% 60–70 yo. 58% illiterate | n = 33: 64% male, 70% married, 64% 60–70 yo. 58% illiterate | Type: Existential/religious Description: Spiritual/religious intervention. Presence for 30 minutes, giving them hope, talking about spiritual experiences, encouraging the sense of generosity and forgiveness, strengthening their relationships with the family, providing opportunities for worship and prayer, and listening to relaxing music for at least 3 days (60–90 minutes) in the evening shift Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | Primary Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale No. of items: 20 Response format: 6-point scale IC: 0.87 STAI No. of items: 20/20 Response format: 4-point scale IC: 0.97 Measured at baseline and post-test |
Spiritual well-being | ||
| 83.3 (9.4) | 81.0 (8.7) | NR; 0.049i | |||||||
| Anxiety (State-Trait) | |||||||||
| 50.0 (NR) | 58.0 (NR) | NR; <0.001k | |||||||
| Alp and Yucel, 2021, Turkey2 | Purpose: Investigate the impacts of therapeutic touch on the comfort and anxiety of elderly (<89 yo) Design: Quasi-experimental Setting: Nursing home |
n = 30: 50% female, 67% widowed, 50% ranged from 75 to 89 yo, and 50% had hypertension | n = 30: 50% female, 63% widowed, 50% ranged from 75 to 89 yo, 73% had hypertension | Type: Existential Description: Therapeutic touch. Touch with the hands for periods of 20 minutes for four successive days Format: Individual |
Description: Routine care | Primary STAI No. of items: 20/20 Response format: 4-point scale Domains: S-Anxiety and T-Anxiety IC: 0.88 General Comfort Questionnaire No. of items:48 Response format: 4-point scale Domain: Comfort subdimensions and levels IC: 0.82 Measured at baseline and post-test (measurement 2 after intervention) |
Anxiety (State-Trait) | ||
| 44.0 (2.1) | 48.4 (1.2) | 0.001g | |||||||
| General comfort p = 0.01g | |||||||||
| Physical | |||||||||
| 2.9 (0.04) | 2.8 (0.02)l | NR | |||||||
| Psychospiritual | |||||||||
| 3.2 (0.08) | 3 (0.02)l | NR | |||||||
| Environmental | |||||||||
| 3.4 (0.05) | 3.2 (0.03)l | NR | |||||||
| Sociocultural | |||||||||
| 2.6 (0.04) | 2.4 (0.02)l | NR | |||||||
| Relief | |||||||||
| 3.2 (0.03) | 3 (0.02)l0 | NR | |||||||
| Relaxation | |||||||||
| 3.0 (0.05) | 2.9 (0.05)l | NR | |||||||
| Superiority | |||||||||
| 3.0 (0.07) | 2.8 (0.02)l | NR | |||||||
| Zhang et al., 2019, China30 | Purpose: Evaluate the feasibility and effects of the WeChat-based life review on anxiety, depression, self-transcendence, meaning in life, and hope Design: Quasi-experimental Setting: Oncology ward hospital |
n = 44: 77% male, age ranged from 41 to 60 yo, 93% married, 82% had advanced cancer with metastasis, 55% had no religious affiliation | n = 42: 69% male, age ranged from 41 to 60 yo, 83% married. 86% had advanced cancer with metastasis. 67% had no religious affiliation | Type: Existential Description: WeChat-based life review program. Weekly sessions over 6 weeks (40–60 minutes), in which the modules included Memory Prompts, Review Extraction, Mind Space, and E-legacy products. The interviews covered participants' lives, including the present (cancer experience), adulthood, childhood, and a summary of their lives Format: Virtual face-to-face |
Description: Routine care. Personal care, medical care, health education, free Internet access, and emotional support, all provided by the study hospital |
Self-transcendence scale No. of items: 15 Response format: 4-point scale IC: ranges between 0.83 and 0.87 Meaning-in-Life Questionnaire No. of items: 10 Response format: 7-point scale IC: ranges between 0.79 and 0.93 Herth Hope Scale No. of items: 12 Response format: 4-point scale IC: 0.87 Zung's self-rating anxiety scale No. of items: 20 Response format: 4-point scale IC: 0.79 Zung's self-rating depression scale No. of items: 20 Response format: 4-point scale IC: 0.87 Measured at baseline and post-test |
Self-Transcendence | ||
| 53.5 (4.6) | 43.9 (6.6) | NR; 0.001g | |||||||
| Meaning in life | |||||||||
| 56.6 (10.1) | 49.4 (8.6) | NR; 0.001g | |||||||
| Hope | |||||||||
| 36.4 (3.3) | 35.1 (3.5) | NR; 0.098g | |||||||
| Anxiety | |||||||||
| 25.9 (3.7) | 32.1 (5.5) | NR; 0.001g | |||||||
| Depression | |||||||||
| 30.5 (4.4) | 39.0 (7.5) | NR; 0.001g | |||||||
| Authors/year published/country | Study purpose, design, and setting | Sample, pretest, and post-test (single group) | Intervention provided by nurses | Outcome measures | Results |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretest mean (SD)m | Post-test mean (SD)n | Difference between pretest and post-testo | |||||||
| Carvalho et al., 2014, Brazil38 |
Purpose: Evaluate the effect of prayer on anxiety Design: Quasi-experimental Setting: Oncology ward Hospital |
n = 20: 75% were male, 55% 51–60 yo, 75% were married, and 65% Catholic |
Type: Religious Description: Prayer intervention. An audio recording of a musician's voice with good diction. The intervention was based on no invocation of saints, citing Psalm 138 of the Bible, which speaks of divine omniscience: God knows all and sees all. Patients held hands with the nurse researcher, who conducted an intercession prayer for periods of 11 minutes Format: Individual |
STAI No. of items: 20/20 Response Format: 4-point scale IC: NR |
Anxiety (state) |
||||
| 33.5 (4.9) |
28.4 (5.6) |
5.1; <0.001g |
|||||||
| Vlasblom et al., 2015, Netherlands39 | Purpose: Investigate the implementation of a spiritual screening and assess the effects on the spiritual well-being Design: Quasi-experimental Setting: Hospital |
n = 106 (pretest), n = 103 (post-test): 58% were female. Mean age was 64 (16.20) yo and 48% of them had any spiritual background | Type: Existential Description: Nurses' Screening of Spiritual Needs. On admission, nurses administer the spiritual screening (questions related to the purpose and the meaning of life, illness, and spiritual beliefs) through an electronic patient history using the software program Mediscore. In the case of a positive spiritual distress score, the Department of Spiritual and Pastoral Care receives notifications Format: Individual |
Primary FACIT-Sp scale No. of items: 12 Response format: 5-point scale IC: NR Spiritual consultation requests (n) |
Spiritual well-being |
||||
| Meaning and peace | |||||||||
| 23.7 (5.8) |
22.8 (4.3) |
0.9; 0.004g |
|||||||
| Faith | |||||||||
| 7.7 (4.4) |
6.1 (4.3) |
1.6; 0.036g |
|||||||
| Spiritual consultation | |||||||||
| n = 2 | n = 33 | NR | |||||||
a
Interaction effects (group × time).
b
p Values were calculated using generalized estimating equations.
c
Repeated measures ANOVA.
d
Reported p value in the interaction effect (group × time) equal 0.90. However, the study presents discrepancies in report of results.
e
p < 0.05 to adjusted difference and 95% CI using ANOVA. Each outcome measure was tested individually, with its corresponding baseline score used as a covariate. The results of the study present high attrition (31%) combined with per-protocol analysis (instead of the more rigorous intent to treat analysis) and baseline imbalance on outcome variables.
f
ANCOVA.
g
Simple group comparison at post-test.
h
The study lists demographic characteristics for the entire sample (n = 45) instead of reporting by each group.
i
Difference in change score between intervention and control groups.
j
Standardized effect size.
k
p Value does not report comparison between two groups. Instead, it reported pretest and post-test for the group intervention only.
l
The study reports a small range of SD by each subdimension and levels of comfort, for instance, Relief subscale: 3.2 (SD = 0.03) and 3 (SD = 0.02), intervention and control group, respectively. We found discrepancies in the SD compared to another Turkey study41 using the same General Comfort Questionnaire, for example, Relief: 2.7 (SD = 0.3) and 2.8 (SD = 0.3).
m
Mean and standard deviation at pretest.
n
Mean and standard deviation at post-test.
o
Difference between pretest and post-test.
ANCOVA, analysis of covariance; ANOVA, analysis of variance; CoQoLo, Comprehensive Quality-of-Life Outcome; FACIT-Sp, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual; GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale; GTS, Gerotranscendence Scale; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; IC, internal consistency reliability is estimated by Cronbach's coefficient alpha; IC:NR, Cronbach's coefficient alpha did not report in this study; LSS, Life Satisfaction Scale; MQOL-HK, McQill Quality-of-Life Index—Hong Kong version; NIC, Nursing Interventions Classification; NR, not reported; QOLC-E, Quality-of-Life Concerns in the End of Life; RCT, randomized controlled trial; SD, standard deviation; STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STS, Self-Transcendence Scale; WHOQOL, World Health Organization Quality of Life; yo, years old.