Development and psychometric properties of a Spiritual Needs Assessment Scale for patients with COVID-19

The current mixed methods, exploratory study aimed to develop and determine the psychometrics of a scale to assess the spiritual needs of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study was performed in two stages: qualitative and quantitative. Through 14 interviews with patients with COVID-19, three themes, including Composure, Meaning in Life, and Global Responsibility, were formed. In the quantitative stage, content validity was achieved through the comments of 10 experts and patients. A total of 330 participants completed the instrument to assess construct validity. Exploratory factor analysis with 29 items and four subscales was performed, indicating a 6-point Likert scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.82 for the whole scale and 0.85, 0.81, 0.79, and 0.72 for the Composure, Communication, Meaning in Life, and Global Responsibility subscales, respectively. Intraclass correlation coefficient (test–retest analysis) was 0.79 and showed acceptable stability for the scale. The “Spiritual Needs Assessment Scale for COVID-19 Patients” is a 29-item multi-dimensional scale with robust psychometric properties, which can measure various aspects regarding the spiritual needs of patients with COVID-19.