Measurement of spiritual wellbeing in an Australian hospital population using the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy: Spiritual wellbeing scale (FACIT-Sp-12)
Publication Details
Best, M.,
Simpson, G.,
Jones, K.,
Merritt, F.,
Casey, M.,
Lynch, S.,
Eisman, J.,
Cohen, J.,
Mackie, D.,
Beilharz, K.,
&
Kearney, M.
(2024).
Measurement of spiritual wellbeing in an Australian hospital population using the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy: Spiritual wellbeing scale (FACIT-Sp-12).
Journal of Religion and Health, Early View (Online First).
Abstract
Spiritual wellbeing is known to be a predictor of increased patient coping in hospital settings. Therefore, access to a valid and reliable measure of spiritual wellbeing amongst general hospital patients is highly recommended. The aim of this study was to investigate the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Wellbeing scale (FACIT-Sp-12) in a heterogeneous cohort of hospital patients. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 897 adult patients across six hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Confrmatory factor analysis for the three-factor FACIT-12-Sp indicated a poor ft, but after removal of Item 12, the three-factor FACIT-11-Sp presented a good ft to the data. Reliability testing indicated acceptable to good internal consistency. Validity was supported by statistically signifcant diferences between patients who considered themselves ‘both spiritual and religious’ and ‘not religious or spiritual’. While some caution should be taken when using the FACIT-Sp due to several limitations, nevertheless, in a general hospital population in Australia, the three-factor FACIT-11-Sp indicated good dimensionality, reliability, and validity.
Keywords
spirituality, FACIT-Sp-12, spiritual wellbeing, hospital, patients
Link to Publisher Version (URL)
