Implementierung von Spiritual Care – eine Option gegen emotionale Distanzierung?

Does the implementation of spiritual care as an ideal and competence in clinical routine processes also have an impact on healthcare professionals? Is there an association between stress perception, job satisfaction, and spiritual care competencies that would protect against emotional distancing from their patients?

Participants from different health professions who took part in the 40-hour Spiritual/Existential Care Interprofessional (SpECi) curriculum were examined at three time points (before the intervention and 3 and 6 months later) using standardized questionnaire modules (e.g., World Healthcare Organization Five Wellbeing Index [WHO-5], Cool Down Index [CDI], Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire [SCCQ]).

Already before the training, both workload and job satisfaction were high. The indicators of burden and job satisfaction did not change significantly over time, while spiritual care competencies improved with a moderate effect size. For cool down (perception of emotional overload and emotional distancing), there was a trend for higher postintervention scores. Those who were stressed by their work situation had low job and team satisfaction, lower psychological well-being, and higher cool down scores; however, there was no association with spiritual care competencies.

Of the specific spiritual care competencies, the primarily high perception competencies and conversation competencies were particularly relevant for patient care. With respect to well-being, job and team satisfaction, team spirit should be developed. There is great potential for future training programs.