title: Examining the Validity of the Rush Protocol to Screen for Religious/Spiritual Struggle.
abstract: Effective deployment of limited spiritual care resources requires valid and reliable methods of screening that can be used by nonchaplain health care professionals to identify and refer patients with potential religious/spiritual (R/S) need. Research regarding the validity of existing approaches to R/S screening is limited. In a sample of 1,399 hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors, we tested the validity of the Rush Protocol and two alternative versions of it. The negative religious coping subscale of the Brief RCOPE provided the reference standard. Based on the Protocol, 21.9% of the survivors were identified as having potential R/S struggle. The sensitivity of the Protocol was low (42.1%) and the specificity was marginally acceptable (81.3%). The sensitivity and specificity of the two alternative versions were similar to those for the unmodified Protocol. Further research with the Rush Protocol, and other models, should be pursued to develop the best evidence-based approaches to R/S screening.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Religion, Health and Human Values , Rush University Medical Center , Chicago , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fitchett
authors.affiliation: a Department of Religion, Health and Human Values , Rush University Medical Center , Chicago , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: b Seattle Cancer Care Alliance , Seattle , Washington , USA.
authors.forename: Stephen D W
authors.initials: SDW
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002604:Chaplaincy Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cancer; chaplains; distress screening; religion; spirituality