Spirituality is everybody\u27s business : An exploration of the impact of spiritual care training upon the perceptions and practice of rehabilitation professionals

Purpose: This study explored the impact of a brief spiritual care training program upon the perceptions and self-reported practice of rehabilitation professionals working in traumatic injury. Methodology and methods: A qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were held with staff from a rehabilitation hospital in Sydney, Australia, between six and eight weeks after participation in spiritual care training. A thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Of the 41 rehabilitation professionals who attended the training (1 h online, 1.5 h face to face), 16 agreed to be interviewed. The majority worked in spinal cord injury and were female. Half reported holding a Christian affiliation. One overarching theme and six sub-themes were identified from the qualitative data. The overarching theme was “spirituality is everybody’s business”. The six sub-themes were: (i) increased awareness of the nature of spirituality, (ii) realisation of the importance of spirituality to clients, (iii) a desire to keep spirituality on the radar, (iv) identifying barriers to providing spiritual care (v) incorporating spirituality into practice, and, (vi) recognising spirituality as personally meaningful. Conclusions: A brief spiritual care training program can impact positively upon perceptions and practice of rehabilitation professionals. Ongoing training is needed to ensure that staff retain what was learnt. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Brief spiritual care training can impact positively upon rehabilitation professionals’ perceptions of spirituality and lead to practice change in the delivery of spiritual care across many clinical disciplines. The stories of patients and family members are powerful staff education tools in spiritual care training. Client spirituality is an under recognised resource that staff can draw upon in supporting and enhancing the rehabilitation process

Effectiveness of spiritual care training for rehabilitation professionals: An exploratory controlled trial

Background: Spirituality may play an important role in neurorehabilitation, however research findings indicate that rehabilitation professionals do not feel well equipped to deliver spiritual care. Objective: To evaluate a spiritual care training program for rehabilitation professionals. Methods: An exploratory controlled trial was conducted. Participants enrolled in a two-module spiritual care training program. Spiritual care competency was measured with the Spiritual Care Competency Scale. Confidence and comfort levels were measured using the Spiritual Care Competency Scale domains. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale assessed participant attitudes and knowledge. Measures were administered three times: pre-program, post-program and six weeks follow-up. Results: The training (n = 41) and control (n = 32) groups comprised rehabilitation professionals working in spinal cord or traumatic brain injury units. No between-group differences were observed on the study variables at the pre-program time point. Multilevel models found that levels of spiritual care competency, confidence, comfort, and ratings on existential spirituality increased significantly for the training group (versus control) post-program (p \u3c 0.05) and these significant differences were maintained at follow-up. Conclusions: A brief spiritual care training program can be effective in increasing levels of self-reported competency, confidence and comfort in delivery of spiritual care for rehabilitation professionals

Spirituality, Hope, and Resilience in the Recovery and Adaptation Process Following Spinal Cord Injury

Much of the research which has investigated adaptation after spinal cord injury (SCI) has focused upon the physical and psychological challenges confronting the injured person. There is a growing body of evidence however which suggests that many people with SCI and their family members can overcome these challenges and move forward, drawing upon a range of resources and strengths. Spirituality, hope, and resilience are three constructs that have been associated with positive outcomes after SCI. This chapter outlines the research findings to date about these constructs within the field of SCI. The relationship between these variables will be examined and explored. Implications for SCI practice will be discussed, and the findings from the trial of one intervention program conducted with rehabilitation staff outlined

Assessment of Severity of Long QT Syndrome Phenotype and Risk of Fetal Death

Background It has been postulated that long QT syndrome (LQTS) can cause fetal loss through putative adverse effects of the channelopathy on placenta and myometrial function. The authors aimed to describe the fetal death rate in a population of pregnant women with long QT syndrome and investigate whether women with more severe phenotype had worse fetal outcomes. Methods and Results The authors retrospectively evaluated fetal outcomes of 64 pregnancies from 23 women with long QT syndrome followed during pregnancy in a tertiary pregnancy and heart disease program. Thirteen of 64 pregnancies (20%) resulted in a fetal loss, 12 miscarriages (19%), and 1 stillbirth (1.6%). Baseline maternal characteristics, including age and use of β‐blockers, did not differ between women who experienced a fetal death or not. Maternal corrected QT interval (QTc) was significantly longer in pregnancies that resulted in fetal death compared with live births (median, 518 ms [interquartile range (IQR), 482‐519 ms] versus 479 ms [IQR, 454–496 ms], P500 ms was significantly lower compared with women with QTc 500 ms is lower, suggesting that patients with more marked phenotype may experience worse fetal outcomes