Measuring spiritual uncertainty for hospice and palliative care providers

Abstract

Background: Spiritual uncertainty is a new construct for end-of-life care that focuses on the questions, worries and doubts people have with end-of-life spirituality. Spiritual uncertainty can contribute to spiritual distress for patients and families dealing with the end of life, as well as lead healthcare providers to avoid spiritual care methods. Aims: This article reports on the item construction of a new survey design to measure the spiritual uncertainty of healthcare providers. Methods: Items were constructed from qualitative data gathered from five focus groups (with a total of 23 interdisciplinary hospice and palliative care providers being surveyed). Data were developed through three rounds of item construction, selection/refinement and assessment. Findings: A final pool of 42 items was constructed to measure the spiritual uncertainty of healthcare providers. Expert validity was obtained by 16 interdisciplinary hospice and palliative care providers. Conclusion: This survey is the first to measure spiritual uncertainty of healthcare providers. Additional research is needed to assess the psychometric properties of survey items.