Kate Jones

The University of Notre Dame Australia · Institute for Ethics and Society

Purpose People with primary malignant brain tumors experience serious health-related suffering caused by limited prognosis and high symptom burden. Consequently, neuro-oncological healthcare workers can be affected emotionally in a negative way. The aim of this study was to analyze the attitudes and behavior of nurses and physicians when confronted...

Spiritual wellbeing is known to be a predictor of increased patient coping in hospital settings. Therefore, access to a valid and reliable measure of spiritual wellbeing amongst general hospital patients is highly recommended. The aim of this study was to investigate the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the Functional Assessment of Chro...

The aim of this study was to evaluate a new spiritual care training program with health and aged care staff. A four-module program was delivered to 44 participants at a large Catholic health and aged care provider in Australia. Pre, post and 6 week follow-up surveys were administered and included measures of spiritual care competency, confidence, p...

Purpose People with primary malignant brain tumors experience serious health-related suffering caused by limited prognosis and high symptom burden. The aim of this study was to analyze the attitudes and behavior of nurses and physicians when confronted with spiritual distress in these patients. Methods Neurospirit-DE is a qualitative vignette-base...

Objectives: Definitions of spirituality abound; however, the importance of context and need for better understanding within health-care practice has been emphasized. In particular, the understanding of spirituality for nurses has been shown to have an impact both professionally and personally. Methods: This study used a conceptual analysis to ex...

Background: Recent studies have tested models of resilience and caregiver adjustment in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury (SCI). Few studies have examined the role of adaptive variables over time. Objective: Conduct a longitudinal study to test a model of caregiver resilience with caregiver outcomes at 2- and 5-...

While there is high patient acceptance for clinical staff discussing issues regarding spirituality with hospital inpatients, it is not clear which staff member patients prefer for these discussions. This unique exploratory study investigated inpatient preferences regarding which staff member should raise the topic of spirituality. A cross-sectional...

The aim of this study was to explore Australian chaplains’ views of spirituality. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 16 participants. Participants relied heavily on metaphors and analogies to describe spirituality. Four inter-related themes were identified through reflexive thematic analysis: (1) The core of spirituality: spiritu...

While patients value engagement concerning their spirituality as a part of holistic healthcare, there is little evidence regarding the preferred way to engage in discussions about spirituality. This study investigated inpatient preferences regarding how they would like spirituality to be raised in the hospital setting. A cross-sectional survey was...

The value of spiritual care training for all staff working in health and aged care has been demonstrated. This study investigated how spiritual care specialists (SCSs) perceive their role in delivering spiritual care education to other staff. Fourteen SCSs participated in three online focus groups. Two key themes were identified: First, SCSs build...

Objective: Spiritual care is a component of quality palliative care, but healthcare providers have reported lack of training as a barrier to its provision. This paper describes the evaluation of the Interprofessional Spiritual Care Educational Curriculum (ISPEC)© which is a six-module evidence-based curriculum developed for teaching interprofessio...

Much of the research which has investigated adaptation after spinal cord injury (SCI) has focused upon the physical and psychological challenges confronting the injured person. There is a growing body of evidence however which suggests that many people with SCI and their family members can overcome these challenges and move forward, drawing upon a...

Objectives The aim was to identify determinants of nurse spiritual/existential care practices toward end-of-life patients. Nurses can play a significant role in providing spiritual/existential care, but they actually provide this care less frequently than desired by patients. Methods A systematic search was performed for peer-reviewed articles tha...

Objective To test a model comprising explanatory (neurological impairment, coping, personality) and mediating (resilience, self-efficacy, hope, social support) variables on psychological adjustment and burden among family caregivers of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) versus spinal cord injury (SCI). Design Structural equation modelli...

Objective The aim was to to establish core components of spiritual care training for healthcare professionals in Australia. Methods This study used the Delphi technique to undertake a consensus exercise with spiritual care experts in the field of healthcare. Participant opinion was sought on (i) the most important components of spiritual care trai...

Context Spirituality has been demonstrated to play an important role in healthcare, yet many staff feel ill-equipped to deliver spiritual care. Spiritual care training programs have been developed to address this need. Objective The aim of this mixed-methods systematic review was to identify spiritual care training programs for healthcare professi...

The global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has brought about physical, psychological and spiritual challenges within health and aged care services across Australia. The aim of this study was to consider the impact of COVID-19 from the perspective of Australian chaplains. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 chaplains. A grounded theory...

Background: Spirituality has been recognised to play an important role in neurorehabilitation, however research findings indicate that rehabilitation professionals do not feel well equipped to deliver spiritual care. Objective: To evaluate a spiritual care training program for rehabilitation professionals. Methods: An exploratory controlled tr...

Purpose: This study explored the impact of a brief spiritual care training program upon the perceptions and self-reported practice of rehabilitation professionals working in traumatic injury. Methodology and methods: A qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were held with staff from a rehabilitation hospital in Sydney, Australia, between...

Background: A deficits approach to understanding psychological adjustment in family caregivers of individuals with a neurological disability is extensive, but further research in the field of positive psychology (spirituality, resilience, hope) may provide a potential avenue for broadening knowledge of the family caregiver experience after traumat...

Background: Spirituality has been positively associated with key adjustment indicators for individuals affected by traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury. Objective: To explore the perceptions of health professionals working in rehabilitation in relation to spirituality and spiritual care practice. Methods: An observational study. An ada...

Background: Stroke is the leading cause of disability in Australia and the third-leading cause of disability worldwide and a significant burden on caregivers. Objective: To map the extent, range and nature of the literature investigating spirituality and resilience among family caregivers of survivors of stroke. Method: A scoping review. Resu...

Objective: To test a model of spiritual well-being and resilience among individuals with spinal cord injuries and their family members. Design: Prospective cross-sectional observational data were analyzed by structural equation modelling. Setting: Inpatient and community services at one rehabilitation hospital. Subjects: Individual with spin...

Spirituality is recognised as an important component of health within both policy and research literature. However, it is a topic often not addressed in nursing practice. Identified barriers include lack of time, lack of confidence, and personal discomfort. One potential factor contributing to these barriers is the close association between the con...

Objective: To identify the extent of research which has investigated spirituality or closely related meaning-making constructs after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: A scoping review was employed to capture the broadest possible range of studies. Methods: Search terms ‘spirituality’, ‘religion’, ‘beliefs’, ‘faith’, ‘hope’, ‘meaning’, ‘purpose...

Purpose/objective: The aim of this exploratory study was to consider how spirituality (encompassing meaning, hope and purpose), may facilitate family resilience after spinal cord injury (SCI) over time. Research Method/Design: A qualitative, longitudinal study design was adopted. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 family dyads (consi...

Study design: Descriptive, qualitative study. Objectives: To explore the perspectives of health professionals (HPs) regarding the role of spirituality in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation. Setting: Single centre rehabilitation hospital, NSW, Australia. Methods: Two focus groups (n = 12) were conducted with HPs (e.g., nursing, allied he...

The International Network for Social Workers in Acquired Brain Injury (INSWABI) commissioned a systematic scoping review to ascertain the social work-generated evidence base on people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) of working age. The review aimed to identify the output, impact and quality of publications authored by social workers on this topic...

The purpose of this scoping review was to investigate the role of spirituality in facilitating adjustment and resilience after spinal cord injury (SCI) for the individual with SCI and their family members. Method - data sources: Peer reviewed journals were identified using PsychInfo, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase and Sociological Abstracts search engines...

Objective: To investigate the relationship between resilience and affective state, caregiver burden and caregiving strategies among family members of people with traumatic brain or spinal cord injury. Design: An observational prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: Inpatient and community rehabilitation services. Subjects: Convenience sa...