• Kyung-Ah Kang, Youngsim Choi, and Shin-Jeong Kim.
• Kyung-Ah Kang, PhD, RN, is professor, College of Nursing, Sahmyook University, Seoul, South Korea. Youngsim Choi, MS, RN, is palliative care nurse, Hospice Unit, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, South Korea. Shin-Jeong Kim, PhD, RN, is professor, School of Nursing, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
• J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2019 Oct 1; 21 (5): 453-462.

AbstractThis study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of a scale to assess the competence of Korean nurses who provide spiritual care for patients with terminal illnesses. The reliability and validity were examined using Cronbach α, item analysis, and exploratory factor analysis. The participants were 248 hospice nurses working at 40 hospices and palliative hospitals in South Korea. The results showed that the reliability was high, as indicated by a Cronbach α of .942. The exploratory factor analysis revealed 6 dimensions (assessment and implementation of spiritual care, professionalization and improvement of the quality of spiritual care, personal support and patient counseling, referral to professionals, attitude toward the patient's spirituality, and communication) with 27 items. The 6 factors explained 68.20% of the variance in the Korean version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale. From the results, the Korean version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale may serve as an appropriate measure for provision of spiritual care for patients with terminal illness. In addition, it may be useful in assessing hospice and palliative nurses' ability for spiritual care.

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