Spirituality in the continuing education of healthcare professionals: An approach to palliative care

Objective A major barrier to the adoption of an approach that integrates spirituality into palliative care is the lack of preparation/education of healthcare professionals on the topic. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a continuing education activity for healthcare professionals addressing spirituality and spiritual care provision to patients and families within palliative care. Method We conducted an intervention study using a quantitative pre- and posttest design in a convenience sample of 52 healthcare professionals. Participants completed the Brazilian version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale before and after attending a four-hour continuing education activity. Result Significant differences were observed between pre- and postintervention scores in the following dimensions: assessment and implementation of spiritual care, professionalization and improving the quality of spiritual care, personal support, and patient counseling ( p p = 0.003). Significance of results The results of this study provide preliminary evidence of a positive effect of this educational intervention on the development of the competences needed by healthcare professionals to deliver a comprehensive approach centered on the patient/family, which includes attention to spirituality and spiritual care in the decision-making process.