The Effect of Spiritual Education on Spiritual Health of Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental study

Spiritual health (SH) is a supernatural force and endeavor to achieve perfection and peace of mind in life.When it is endangered, a person experiences loss of meaning in life. In nursing, caring services and SH are related to each other. It is necessary to promote the SH of nurses so that patients will receive better care. The study aim was the effect of spiritual education on SH of nursing students. In this quasi-experimental study, 76 of undergraduate nursing students were selected using random simple sampling method and divided into experimental group (EG) and control group (CG) (n= 38) with random allocation method. Educational intervention was done for the EG for a period of 4 weeks, a 60-minute session per week, but no intervention was performed for the CG. Four weeks after the intervention, the post-test was taken in 2 groups. Data were collected using the SH scale by Paloutzian and Ellison. Independent t-test didn’t indicate any difference before the intervention in the mean score of SH in 2 groups (t=-0.49, p=0.62), while in the post-test, the independent t-test indicated the mean score of SH was higher in the EG than in the CG (t=-2.14, p<0.03). After the intervention, there was a significant increase in the SH (t=-4.39, p<0.001) in the EG. The paired t-test indicated no difference in the SH in the CG compared to the pre and post-test (t=-0.25, p<0.79). Spritual education influenced SH of nursing students. It is recommended that spiritual education be considered as one of the strategies for promoting SH in students.