ArticleBMC nursing2026
The interplay between spiritual care practice, perception, and competency among critical care nurses: structural equation modeling study.
Article in BMC nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSpiritual care is a vital yet often overlooked component of holistic nursing, particularly in high-stress environments similar intensive care units. While critical care nurses' spiritual perceptions and practices have been investigated, the mediating role of competency and the influence of demographic factors remain understudied.
aimThis study aimed to investigate relationships among spiritual perception, competency, and practice in critical care nurses, focusing on how competency mediates these relationships and the potential moderating role of demographic variables.
methodsA multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 312 critical care nurses across three hospitals in Egypt. Data were collected from 14 intensive care units between February and March 2024 using an online questionnaire that included the Spiritual Care Practice Questionnaire, the Perception of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale, and the Spiritual Care Competency Scale. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze mediation and moderator variables.
resultsA total of 312 nurses participated in the study. Spiritual competency significantly mediated the relationship between spiritual perception and Spiritual Care Practice (unstandardized indirect effect = 0.302, p < 0.001; standardized β = 0.357). Structural relationships were evaluated based on individual path coefficients rather than the global model fit. Additionally, age significantly moderated the paths from spiritual perception to practice and from spiritual competency to practice; ICU type significantly moderated the paths from spiritual perception to practice, from spiritual perception to competency, and from competency to practice; gender did not significantly moderate any path; and education level significantly moderated the paths from spiritual perception to practice, from spiritual perception to competency, and from competency to practice. Years of ICU experience did not show a significant moderating role.
conclusionSpiritual care competency was associated with the relationship between perception of spirituality and spiritual care and its practice among nurses. Specific demographic characteristics demonstrated significant interaction effects on selected pathways. Age and ICU type showed significant interaction effects on several structural pathways, whereas years of ICU experience did not demonstrate significant interaction effects, underscoring the need for tailored approaches to spiritual care training and practice. Integrating spiritual care competency into training programs for critical care nurses, while considering demographic factors, may enhance holistic care in intensive care units. CLINICAL TRIAL: Not applicable.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.