Tool for the assessment spiritual care after the COVID-19 pandemic: a sequential exploratory study

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to develop a tool to assess spiritual care after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Materials and methods: This study is a mixed sequential (Qualitative-Quantitative) exploratory study. In the qualitative phase, through 14 in-depth semi-structured individual interviews with clerics, specialists in Islamic jurisprudence and principles, specialists in education and health promotion, and using the content analysis approach, tool items were designed. Purposeful sampling was performed with maximum diversity of experts and enthusiasts in the field of spiritual health. Results: Content analysis of the data obtained from interviews led to explaining the concept of spiritual care after the COVID-19 Pandemic in four main themes: spiritual care needs, spiritual care characteristics, outcomes of spiritual care, and the challenge of providing spiritual care. The average content validity index of the tool was 0.94. Exploratory factor analysis showed 4 factors that explained more than 62.83% of the variance. The correlation of spiritual cares scale score for COVID-19 Pandemic with spiritual care tool was (0.86, p <0.001). Conclusion: Spiritual care tool is a valid and reliable tool, with 38 items to assess the spiritual care after the COVID-19 Pandemic.