Implementation of a validated Assessment in Spiritual Care practice; the Spiritual Distress Assessment Tool (SDAT).
Craig Exon1, Emma Schneider21Spiritual Health Association, Melbourne, VIC, Australia2Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Abstract
Patients presenting to acute hospital services benefit from spiritual care, however validated assessments are seldom used to assess patients spiritual needs and evaluate spiritual care interventions.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a validated assessment in Spiritual Care practice and assess distress levels experienced by patients presenting to acute hospital settings.
A single site pilot study was conducted from January to June 2022. The validated SDAT was used by spiritual care practitioners which assesses four key domains: Meaning, Transcendence, Values, and Psychosocial identity. Patients admitted to general medical or surgical wards and referred for spiritual care were included. Assessment informed patient care throughout admission.
A total of 217 patient visits were conducted over 6 months. The SDAT was incorporated into every patient assessment. The average distress score for the trial period was 7.37 (Scale of 0-15). The highest area of distress was in the domain of Meaning (2.08/3), where patients are seeking to adjust to significant life changes. Patient distress levels reduced upon repeat assessment to 6.75
The SDAT was successfully piloted within Spiritual Care in an acute hospital setting. Implementing a validated assessment within spiritual care practice could help to: inform future spiritual care interventions to patient needs; communicate the spiritual needs of patients to multidisciplinary care team; monitor areas of distress experienced by patient cohorts in different settings. Further feasibility testing could inform adoption in other settings.
Biography
Craig Exon is the Quality and Advocacy Leader for Spiritual Health Association, and former Spiritual Care Manager at Alfred Health. He is a highly credentialed leader with experience in Health, Not for Profit and Education sectors. Craig is highly experienced in leadership and service development and implementation and building a culture of high performing teams.