The Relationship between Daily Spiritual Experiences and the Dimensions of Spiritual Care Competence in Nursing Students: The Dimension of Professionalization and Improvement of the Quality of Spiritual Care.

Background: Daily spiritual experiences and spiritual care competence have positive health effects on patients and form an integral part of the nursing profession. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and the dimensions of spiritual care competence in nursing students. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 401 nursing students in their last year of the program. The participants were selected from nursing schools in Tehran Province, Iran, in the academic year 2019-2020. The required data were extracted using a demographic information questionnaire, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), and the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS). The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software at the significance level of 0.05. Results: The mean (SD) of daily spiritual experiences and total spiritual care competence was 67.15 (16.33) and 101.77 (16.26), respectively. The personal support and patient counseling dimensions had the highest mean (SD) [22.10) 4.80)]. Among all these dimensions of spiritual care competence, only professionalization and improvement of the quality of spiritual care were predictors of the students' daily spiritual experiences (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The professionalization dimension of spiritual care competence was identified as a predictor of daily spiritual experience in nursing students. Therefore, the researchers recommend the highlighting of this dimension in nursing programs to promote the students' spiritual care competence.

Protection Motivation Theory and Prevention of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Breast cancer is a global health problem with a high rate of incidence and annual death. The protection motivation model (PMT) is a health psychology theory that has been introduced to motivate health behaviors using coping appraisal and threat appraisal. We aimed to systematically review the applicability of PMT to predict and improve the knowledge and intention (the patient's intent to undergo breast cancer screening with self/clinical breast exam or mammography) for protective behaviors among women. A systematic search was performed in May 2022 in electronic databases to investigate the role of PMT in the prediction of protection behaviors in addition to improving the knowledge about the prevention of breast cancer using specific keywords. The relevant studies were then included for data extraction. Seventeen articles including 7 interventional and 10 prediction studies were selected for data assessment. Findings demonstrated that PMT could be used to predict the rate of knowledge and intention about breast cancer risk among women. It was also shown that PMT could be considered as a framework for the prevention of breast cancer by changing the behaviors of individuals by training the participants. Fear arousal, response efficacy, and response cost were found as the main determinants of knowledge and intention rate. PMT can provide a useful framework to evaluate the factors associated with women's intentions about breast cancer. Periodical educational programs should be implemented to improve protection behaviors by increasing the intention of women to regular self-examination.

The correlation between emotional intelligence and clinical competence in nurses working in special care units: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Emotional intelligence and clinical competence are essential skills of the nursing profession to elevate the quality of nursing services and patient satisfaction. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the correlation between emotional intelligence and clinical competence in nurses working in critical care units of hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study with a correlational design. SETTINGS: Special care units (SCUs) of hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. PARTICIPANTS: The research subjects included 200 nurses working in the Special care units SCUs of hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, selected via convenience sampling. METHODS: Data were collected using three questionnaires, including a demographic information questionnaire, the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), and Benner's Nurse Competence Scale (NCS). The questionnaires were completed from October to December 2019. Data were analyzed using SPSS-18 software at a significance level of P < 0.05. RESULTS: The emotional intelligence of nurses participating in the study had the highest mean (SD) of 17.31(3.34) in the self-expression dimension and the lowest mean of 12.04(3.40) in the empathy dimension. There was a significant direct correlation between emotional intelligence and clinical competence (P = 0.05). There was also a significant relationship between the total clinical competence and its dimensions (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Communication skills and accountability significantly impact the provision of optimal care, and the proper training of staff in responsibility, accountability, and communication skills will have many benefits for promoting nursing services and can be considered one of the strategies to improve the quality of nursing services. They are therefore recommended to be considered in designing and implementing continuing education programs for nurses.