Validation of instruments for assessing spiritual well-being, religious involvement, and spiritual distress: methodological studies

Background Spirituality is a dimension that is part of a holistic approach to the patient. However, in Portugal, there is currently a lack of validated instruments in the Portuguese cultural context. In clinical practice, it is necessary to have appropriate tools to ensure the equivalence of the measure, regardless of the context in which it is used. However, the validation of an instrument is an intricate process requiring a high degree of methodological rigor. The aim of this study was to validate instruments for assessing spiritual well-being, religious involvement, and spiritual distress in the context of oncology and in couples with reproductive health conditions. Materials and methods Methodological guidelines according to Sousa and Rojjanasrirat [1]. Results Spiritual well-being questionnaire embraced a four-factors solution and 20 items with an overall Cronbach’s alpha=0.947; Religious involvement (Belief into Action scale) comprises a two-factor solution and nine items Reliability – with an overall Cronbach’s alpha=0.86; Spiritual distress scale comprises a four-factors solution and 30 items with an overall Cronbach’s alpha=0.91. Conclusions This process was achieved through a rigorous methodological approach. This way, reliable instruments were validated and considered reliable to evaluate these concepts in Portuguese samples. Therefore, instruments for assessing spiritual well-being, religious involvement, and spiritual distress in diferent contexts provide nurses with the necessary resources and tools for measuring and evaluating spiritual and religious needs to plan appropriate nursing interventions, obtain better patient health outcomes and increase the quality of nursing care. However, this is an underdeveloped area, and there are still few scales available in clinical practice that claim to need further development and investment.