The Effect of Spiritual Group Therapy on the Quality of Life and Empowerment of Women with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Iran.

This randomized clinical trial was carried out on 74 women with breast cancer between May 2015 and April 2016 in the south of Iran. The patients were selected using a simple sampling method and randomly divided into an intervention (n = 30) and a control (n = 37) group. Five spiritual therapy sessions were conducted for the intervention group. Each session lasted one hour. The quality of life and empowerment of the patients were measured before and one month after the intervention. To collect data, four instruments were used, including a demographic information form, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QOL questionnaire Cancer-30 (EORTC QLQ C-30), EORTC QLQ Breast-23 (EORTC QLQ-BR23), and the Cancer Empowerment Questionnaire (CEQ). After the intervention, a difference was observed between the groups concerning the mean score of general health (P = 0.016) and emotional function (P = 0.029), but there was no significant difference between the groups concerning the mean score of empowerment (P = 0.62). Thus, it appears that spiritual group therapy can improve the quality of life of this group of patients.IRCT registration number: IRCT 2014050417546N2.

Designing and psychometric properties of the hospitalized patients' spiritual needs questionnaire (HPSNQ) in the medical-surgical hospital setting.

BACKGROUND: The evaluation of spiritual requirements in patients can facilitate the delivery of spiritual care as an essential element of holistic healthcare. The objective of this research was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire on patients' spiritual needs in medical-surgical hospital settings. METHODS: This research utilized an exploratory sequential design, involving the creation of a pool of items through both inductive and deductive methods. The questionnaire's psychometric properties were then assessed using various techniques, such as face and content validity, item analysis, construct validity, internal consistency, stability, confirmatory factor analysis, and the Gradual Response Model of Samejima. The data analysis was conducted using MPLUS software, version 5.1. RESULTS: The study's results showed that a four-factor structure (interpersonal connectedness, relationship with God, transcendence, and peaceful environment) with 43 items was successfully extracted through exploratory factor analysis. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the findings of the exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the scale and factors ranged between 0.83 and 0.95. Furthermore, the interclass correlation coefficients for the scale and factors were between 0.89 and 0.96. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire designed in this study is a reliable and valid instrument that can be utilized by healthcare, educational, and research institutions to evaluate the spiritual needs of patients in medical-surgical hospital settings.

Assessing the Expectations and Perceptions of Nursing Students regarding the Educational Services in a School of Nursing and Midwifery Based on the SERVQUAL and Kano Models: A Case Study.

This study determined the gap between student expectations and perceptions to achieve a relatively accurate description of student satisfaction. Student expectations and perceptions regarding educational services across a number of different dimensions were evaluated using SERVQUAL model, and the nature of each educational factor was determined using the Kano model. Three characteristics of 30 educational services indicators were placed in the cluster of students' basic needs, 26 characteristics were placed in the performance and one-dimensional needs cluster, and one characteristic was placed in the neutral needs cluster. No characteristics were put in the cluster concerning the motivational needs of students.

How Do Hospitalized Adolescents Feel Safe? A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: The feeling of safety makes an important contribution to the sense of well-being and quality of care for hospitalized adolescents, who are at a higher risk of feeling unsafe. Feeling unsafe during hospitalization may have a negative impact on recovery. Nurses must be sensitive to the possibility that patients feel unsafe, even in the absence of obvious direct physical threat. PURPOSE: This study explores the experiences of hospitalized adolescents to obtain an understanding of psychological safety. METHODS: A qualitative study using unstructured interviews was conducted to explore the sense of psychological safety of hospitalized adolescents aged 12-18 years and registered in a general medical or surgical pediatric unit. Purposive sampling was used to recruit new qualified participants until data saturation was reached (N = 16). RESULTS: Psychological safety is reflected by the four themes of receiving comprehensive support, protection of human dignity, relaxing environment, and attempts to adapt. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalized adolescents stated that healthcare services should provide comprehensive support in a relaxing environment that allows them to retain their human dignity and that elicits feelings of psychological safety.

Presence: the cornerstone of spiritual needs among hospitalised patients.

BACKGROUND: An important part of the spiritual needs of patients is 'presence'. The increased demand for holistic care has led to increased attention on 'presence' and its quality. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: Given the importance of understanding the phenomenon of presence in order to promote the spirituality dimension among hospitalised patients, this study aimed to describe the lived experience of hospitalised patients in the context of presence. RESEARCH METHODS: This was a descriptive phenomenological qualitative study carried out on 12 admitted patients in general hospital settings. The data were collected through individual and semi-structured interviews. The Colaizzi method was used for analysing and interpreting the data, while the criteria of the Guba and Lincoln method were used to ensure the trustworthiness of these data. RESULTS: The experience of hospitalised patients concerning 'presence' appeared in the form of three main themes: 'multidimensional connection', 'receiving support' and 'dignity'. During hospitalisation, patients need to experience effective connection with the transcendent and individuals, and receive various types of comprehensive support, such that their and others' dignity is preserved. Patients considered that 'presence' was beyond 'being' and able to provide them with comfort. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' need is very important in the field of presence. In the social and religious context of Iran, in which both supernatural and human aspects of presence are emphasised, it seems that healthcare teams, health authorities and policymakers must provide an appropriate supportive environment in terms of providing a healing presence in its different dimensions.

Patients' perception of dignity in Iranian general hospital settings.

BACKGROUND: Dignified care is one of the main objectives of holistic care. Furthermore, paying attention to dignity as one of the fundamental rights of patients is extremely important. However, in many cases, the dignity of hospitalized patients is not considered. Dignity is an abstract concept, and comprehensive studies of the dignity of Iranian patients hospitalized in general hospital settings are limited. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the concept of dignity from the perspective of patients hospitalized in general hospital settings in Iran. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study takes a qualitative approach. Data were gathered using individual, semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was the method used to analyse and interpret the data. The criteria suggested by Guba and Lincoln were used ensure the trustworthiness of the study. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: A total of 14 hospitalized patients in general hospital settings in Shiraz participated in this study. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The Research Ethics Committee of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences approved the protocol of the study and the ethical principles were followed throughout. FINDINGS: The findings of this study revealed four main themes - 'respectful atmosphere', 'patient privacy', 'preservation of authority' and 'receiving attention' - and 10 categories. DISCUSSION: Patients need to be hospitalized in a respectable environment in which their privacy is preserved and paid attention, providing them with sufficient authority in terms of medical decisions and their life-related issues. The dignity of hospitalized patients will be preserved under these conditions. CONCLUSION: Patients hospitalized in general hospital settings need to retain their dignity. This can contribute to the optimal therapeutic outcomes for them. Therefore, it is suggested that a cultural, professional and institutional background, in which all components of the patient's dignity are protected and emphasized, should be provided.

Spiritual Health: A Concept Analysis.

Spiritual health has attracted a lot of attention in health-related and nursing sciences and numerous researches. Yet, this concept has remained complex and ambiguous, and there is no consensus in this regard. This ambiguity can be challenging for holistic nursing; therefore, clarification of the concept is required for development of nursing knowledge. The present study aimed to explore the concept of spiritual health in health-related and nursing literature. Walker and Avant (Strategies for theory construction in nursing, Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, 1995) concept analysis method was used in this study. The results were categorized as antecedents, attributes, and outcomes of spiritual health. The critical attributes extracted for spiritual health included transcendence, purposefulness and meaningfulness, faithfulness, harmonious interconnectedness, integrative power, multidimensionality, and holistic being. Besides, the antecedents of spiritual health included capability and potentiality for transcendence, and spiritual awareness. Finally, well-being and moral development were the outcomes of spiritual health. Spiritual health is one of the basic aspects of health and providing a clear theoretical definition can result in a common understanding of this concept for nurses. Clarifying this concept would also be useful for provision of spiritual care interventions and development of nursing theories.

Comparison between the effects of muscle relaxation and support groups on the anxiety of nursing students: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of the two methods of muscle relaxation and support group on the anxiety levels of the nursing students. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 150 nursing students who met the inclusion criteria were divided into three equal groups-muscle relaxation, support group, and control-using the permuted-block randomization method. The experimental groups received 5 sessions of intervention, while the control group did not receive any intervention at all. Using Spielberger's inventory, the researchers measured the anxiety levels of all three groups before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The results showed that both methods had a significant impact on anxiety levels of the nursing students; however, a comparison between their effects revealed that muscle relaxation had been more effective than support group. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the seriousness of the issue of anxiety for nursing students, it is important that measures be taken to reduce anxiety in this group.

Challenges of nursing handover: a qualitative study.

The aim of this study was to explore the challenges of nursing handover process during shift rotation in hospitals. The research had a descriptive exploratory design with a qualitative content analysis approach. To conduct the study, three pediatric wards were selected at first. Data were gathered through a 4-month observation of nursing handovers by recording the oral conversations of nurses during the process and semistructured interviews. Then, qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis. Two major themes and five subthemes emerged through the data analysis. The first and the second themes were a nonholistic approach and poor management, respectively. In general, applying a holistic approach and managing handover situations are recommended for nursing managers to overcome handover challenges. Future focus could be on addressing handover challenges through an action research study.