Supportive Care

The State of Spirituality Scale as a Screening Tool for Spiritual Distress

Pam Stephenson

Denice Sheehan

Dana Hansen

spirituality, hospice care, spiritual care, spiritual distress, spiritual screening
CJON 2022, 26(6), 593-596. DOI: 10.1188/22.CJON.593-596

Patients and families facing serious and life- threatening illnesses are at risk for spiritual distress. Screening for spiritual distress is an efficient way of identifying issues. The State of Spirituality scale takes a unique, multidimensional approach to spirituality screening.

At a Glance

  • Spirituality is often neglected by healthcare providers, who may lack the time or training to provide spiritual care.
  • Spiritual screenings are an efficient way of identifying spiritual distress during serious illness and are simple enough for most clinicians to complete.
  • The State of Spirituality scale takes a unique, multidimensional approach by reducing spirituality into five lower-level dimensions.
Members Only
Not a current ONS member or journal subscriber?

Purchase This Article

Receive a PDF to download and print.