title: Can spirituality be taught to health care professionals?
abstract: Although people with life-limiting conditions report a desire to have spiritual concerns addressed, there is evidence that these issues are often avoided by health care professionals in palliative care. This study reports on the longitudinal outcomes of four workshops purpose-designed to improve the spiritual knowledge and confidence of 120 palliative care staff in Australia. Findings revealed significant increases in Spirituality, Spiritual Care, Personalised Care, and Confidence in this field immediately following the workshops. Improvements in Spiritual Care and Confidence were maintained 3 month later, with Confidence continuing to grow. These findings suggest that attendance at a custom-designed workshop can significantly improve knowledge and confidence to provide spiritual care.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia. p.meredith@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meredith
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Trish
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hutch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004496:Education, Continuing; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011793:Queensland; D029181:Spirituality