Pilot Study for the Development of a Questionnaire for the Measuring of the Patientsʼ Attitude towards Spirituality and Religiosity and Their Disease Coping (SpREUK) Objective: Life-threatening diseases are the standard situations which confront patients with spirituality and religiosity. Although both are wellknown factors in disease coping, their measurability and operationability remains a basic problem due to the variety of different meanings and interpretations of these terms. In this paper we describe the development of a questionnaire for the measuring of the patientsʼ attitudes towards spirituality and religiosity and their disease coping (SpREUK). Material and Methods: For a first evaluation, 129 patients with a mean age of 54 years (SD 14.3) completed the questionnaire. 67% of them were women. 76% had a Christian denomination, 19% no denomination, and only 4% reported other religious traditions. 45% of the patients suffered from cancer, 18% from multiple sclerosis, 22% from other chronic diseases, and 15% from acute diseases. The questionnaire comprises 29 five-stage likert-scaled items. Apart from a descriptive analysis of the single items, reliability (Cronbachʼs alpha) and validity analysis (factor analysis) of the questionnaire was performed. Results: Factor analysis resulted in four dimensions: (1) ʼSearch for meaningful supportʼ, (2) ʼGuidance, control and message of diseaseʼ, (A) ʼSupport in relations with the external through spirituality/religiosityʼ, and (B) ʼStabilization of the inner condition through spirituality/religiosityʼ. The reliability of the four scales of the SpREUK questionnaire is high: Cronbach’s alpha 0.82, 0.62, 0.89, resp. 0.74. Women had significantly higher SpREUK scores for scales 1 and 2 than male patients. Non-denominational patients had significantly lower scores in all four scales than those with a Christian denomination. The scores did not correlate with disease or duration of disease; however, there might be a positive correlation between age and the score of scale 2. Discussion: The impact of spirituality and religiosity on the course of disease, coping skills, and health-related quality of life is broadly discussed not only in complementary medicine. With the SpREUK questionnaire we present a reliable and valid instrument to measure the patientsʼ search for meaningful support through spirituality/religiosity in terms of disease coping and health restoration. Further evaluation of this instrument is planned with a focus on hospitals which are affiliated with a specific denomination, as a reasonable extension of quality management and concept development.

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Original Article · Originalarbeit
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2004
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