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. 2024 Sep 18;14(3):2415-2429.
doi: 10.3390/nursrep14030179.

Validation of Two Questionnaires Assessing Nurses' Perspectives on Addressing Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Challenges in Palliative Care Patients

Vesna Antičević  1 , Ana Ćurković  1 , Linda Lušić Kalcina  2
Affiliations

Validation of Two Questionnaires Assessing Nurses' Perspectives on Addressing Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Challenges in Palliative Care Patients

Vesna Antičević et al. Nurs Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Palliative care provides holistic support, addressing physical, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of suffering, known as "total pain", to improve patients' quality of life. Patients often rely on healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, for support. This study aimed to develop and validate questionnaires assessing nurses' perceptions of psychological, social, and spiritual issues in palliative care and their effectiveness in managing them.

Methods: Two self-rated questionnaires were created: the Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Problems of Palliative Patients' Questionnaire and the Effectiveness in Coping with the Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Challenges of Palliative Care Patients. The study surveyed 237 nurses caring for palliative patients in Split Dalmatian County, Croatia.

Results: The questionnaires demonstrated high reliability with Cronbach's α values of 0.98 and 0.99. Factor analysis revealed four factors for the first questionnaire and three for the second. Nurses primarily perceived patients as experiencing fear and emotional/spiritual suffering, with the greatest difficulty coping with the fear of the disease outcomes. Nurses acknowledged the need for improvement in addressing patient challenges, highlighting gaps in the Croatian system.

Conclusions: Ongoing efforts are crucial to prioritize palliative care globally, with nursing professionals playing a vital role in symptom management.

Keywords: factor analysis; palliative care; palliative medicine; psychosocial functioning; social support; spirituality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart showing procedure of selecting relevant studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Psychological, social, and spiritual problems of palliative patients.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effectiveness of coping with psychological, social, and spiritual problems of palliative patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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