Development and Effectiveness of a Spiritual Care Education Program for Nursing Students - Based on the ASSET Model

Purpose: This study was done to develop a spiritual care education program (SCEP) for nursing students to help increase their awareness of the essence of spirituality in care so as to enable them to promote spiritual well-being and spiritual care competence. Methods: The participants were assigned to an experimental group (n=42) or a control group (n=39). From August to October 2009, the experimental group participated in the SCEP, which were held 2 hours a week for 6 weeks. The data were analyzed using X-2-test, Fisher's exact probability test, paired t-test, t-test with the SPSS WIN 17.0 statistics program. Results: The experimental group had a higher mean score for spirituality, spiritual well-being and spiritual care competence than the control group. Significant differences were found between the experimental group and the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the SCEP was effective in improving spirituality, spiritual well-being and spiritual care competence for nursing students.