Psychometric testing of the properties of the spiritual health scale short form.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To further examine the psychometric properties of the spiritual health scale short form, including its reliability and validity.

BACKGROUND: Spirituality is one of the main factors associated with good health outcomes. A reliable and valid instrument to measure spirituality is essential to identify the spiritual needs of an individual and to evaluate the effect of spiritual care.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study design was used.

METHODS: The study was conducted in six nursing schools in northern, central and southern Taiwan. The inclusion criterion for participants was nursing students with clinical practice experience. Initially, 1141 participants were recruited for the study, but 67 were absent and 48 did not complete the questionnaires. A total of 1026 participants were finally recruited, indicating a response rate of 89·9%. The psychometric testing of the spiritual health scale short form included construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis, known-group validity and internal consistency reliability.

RESULTS: The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model as an acceptable model fit. In the known-group validity, the results indicated that people who are in the category of primary religious affiliation have better spiritual health than people in the category of secondary religious affiliation and atheism. The result also indicated that the 24-item spiritual health scale short form achieved an acceptable internal consistency coefficient.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the spiritual health scale short form is a valid and reliable instrument for the appraisal of individual spiritual health.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The spiritual health scale short form could provide useful information to guide clinical practice in assessing and managing people's spiritual health in Taiwan.