Spiritual intelligence of nurses in two Chinese social systems: a cross-sectional comparison study.
BACKGROUND
The spirituality of healthcare providers and their clients is becoming a crucial issue in a world increasingly preoccupied with material issues. In light of such, how do nurses enhance their spiritual intelligence against such materialist pressures? After a 60-year separation of Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the rancor between their two governments, what are the similarities and the differences in nurse spirituality profiles between these two different societies? With increasing contact between the two, this issue should be examined and explored, as it has the potential to become an essential unspoken element underpinning holistic care quality.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to compare spiritual intelligence between nurses in two different Chinese societies.


METHODS
A cross-sectional descriptive and inferential study was conducted at five medical centers in China and Taiwan. A total of 524 registered hospital nurses were recruited as participants. We used R. N. Wolman's (2001) self-reported PsychoMatrix Spirituality Inventory to measure participant levels of spiritual intelligence. The PsychoMatrix Spirituality Inventory incorporated seven factors, including divinity, mindfulness, extrasensory perception, community, intellectuality, trauma, and childhood spirituality.


RESULTS
Results showed that social systems did have an impact on nurses' spiritual intelligence. Childhood spirituality and religious beliefs and activities greatly affected and effectively predicted nurses' spiritual intelligence. Nurses on either side of the Taiwan Strait all reported a need to deal with their daily lives pragmatically, objectively, and rationally and relied on empirical evidence in work settings.


CONCLUSIONS
As social and economic contacts increase across the Taiwan Strait, it is imperative that nurses adopt cultural awareness and sensitivity as they provide holistic care to clients. This study opens doors to dialogue about and a better understanding of nurses' spiritual intelligence in Taiwan and China.
Yang
Ke-Ping
KP
Cardinal Tien College of Healthcare & Management, Taiwan, ROC. yang@ctcn.edu.tw
Wu
Xin-Juan
XJ
D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D012952:Societies; D029181:Spirituality; D013624:Taiwan