Niels Christian Hvidt

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Niels Christian verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• ThD
• Professor at University of Southern Denmark

Sparse knowledge exists about measuring spiritual, religious, and existential (SRE) constructs in children. Well-validated questionnaires measuring such concepts are necessary when researchers want to quantitatively investigate the spiritual lives of children. We aimed to identify questionnaires measuring SRE constructs in children and assess their...

Measurement of human flourishing represents a salutogenic approach to epidemiological and behavioral research emphasizing factors contributing to “good lives” rather than pathology. The objective of this study was to translate and psychometrically test the 10‐item Flourish Index (FI) and 12‐item Secure Flourish Index (SFI) in a convenience sample o...

Introduction Rises in average life expectancy, increased comorbidities and frailty among older patients lead to higher admission rates to intensive care units (ICU). During an ICU stay, loss of physical and cognitive functions may occur, causing prolonged rehabilitation. Some functions may be lost permanently, affecting quality of life (QoL). There...

Forskning på tværs af sundhedsområder har vist, at eksistentiel og åndelig omsorg kan være til stor gavn for patienter. Det kan imidlertid være en udfordring at indarbejde denne omsorg i daglig praksis, ikke mindst i post-sekulære, multikulturelle og pluralistiske kontekster, som eksempelvis den danske. Formålet med dette integrative review var at...

Objectives: To examine the associations between several measures and categories of religiosity and cognitive function across sex and European regions. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study including 17,756 Europeans aged 50 and older who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe wave 1. Participants were followed...

Objectives: A sense of existential vulnerability is embedded in parenthood transition. It is linked to meaning in life, relationship changes, awareness of death, and sometimes a transcendent belief. Nevertheless, in most maternity service guidelines, the existential aspects of life are not an explicit focus. Therefore, this study aimed to explore...

Baggrund For mange ældre er en plejebolig deres sidste hjem, hvor de bor frem til livets afslutning. Mange ældre på plejecentre sidder alene med de eksistentielle tanker og bekymringer, der trænger sig på. Nogle kan tale om disse forhold med familie eller venner, men andre har brug for, at de sundhedsprofessionelle kan træde ind i det eksistentiell...

Dette temanummer handler om spiritualitet og helbred, med særligt fokus på eksistentiel og åndelig omsorg i konteksten af det danske sundhedsvæsen. Artiklerne i temanummeret fokuserer hver især, og fra forskellige perspektiver, på, hvorledes eksistentielle og åndelige livsaspekter påvirker menneskers helbred (og vice-versa), og derfor forholder de...

Background The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the derived changes in maternity care have created stress and anxiety among pregnant women in different parts of the world. In times of stress and crisis, spirituality, including spiritual and religious practices, may increase. Objective To describe if the COVID-19 pandemic influenced pregnant...

Backgrounds: Patients with hematological cancers and their caregivers request more realistic information about disease trajectory and prognosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the implementation of an adapted SICP concept into the hematological department at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. Methods: For evaluating the adaptation and...

Introduction Talking about existential issues with patients is often experienced as challenging for healthcare professionals. This paper describes our first steps towards developing existential communication training with particular attention to reflective learning methods. Blended learning was chosen to support reflection and an easier transition...

Background The COVID‐19 pandemic was a global health and economic crisis. In the early phase of the pandemic, studies found that populations were reporting lower levels of mental well‐being and high levels of distress and worry. This study investigated potential protective and risk factors such as sociodemographics and psychological factors such as...

Background: Spiritual aspects of the human condition may give rise to spiritual pain and suffering, especially in the face of illness or difficult life situations. A growing volume of research documents the effects of religiosity, spirituality, meaning, and purpose on health. In supposedly secular societies, however, spiritual matters are rarely a...

Research suggests a protective effect of religious service attendance on various health outcomes. However, most research has been done in religious societies, raising the question of whether these associations are also prominent in secular cultures. Here we examine mortality and hospitalisations by religious service attendance among men and women i...

The present study investigates whether social networks mediate the well-established positive association between religiosity and health behaviour. Most research has focused on traditional public religiosity (e.g. regular church attendance). This study, however, focuses on the Danish population in which non-traditional and private religiosity is com...

Aim Differences in levels of vaccine uptake have emerged across Europe, and this may partly be explained by religious beliefs. Our aim is to study the association between religiosity, measured by prayer frequency, and vaccine hesitancy, and to examine how this association varies across European countries and regions. Methods This study was based o...

“The existential” is a concept that many people use albeit associated with different meanings. In order to increase research-based insight into the meaning of “the existential,” we conducted a questionnaire study in Denmark in 2018 in which we asked 1.106 Danes of various age, gender, educational and geographical background about personal associati...

In secular cultures, such as Denmark, tools to measure spiritual needs are warranted to guide existential and spiritual care. We examined the clinimetric properties of the Danish version of the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (DA-SpNQ-20) based on a digital survey in a test–retest setup. A convenience sample was reached via social media and student p...

Background: Research suggests a protective effect of religious service attendance on various health outcomes. However, most research has been done in religious societies, raising the question of whether these associations are also prominent in secular cultures. Here we examine mortality and hospitalisations by religious service attendance among men...

Background Professional empathy has been associated with a range of positive patient- and clinician outcomes and is therefore considered important to develop for future physicians. Measuring changes in empathy scores among medical students by using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (Student version) (JSE-S) has led to mixed results. So far, no investi...

Modern healthcare research has only in recent years investigated the impact of health care workers’ religious and other values on medical practice, interaction with patients, and ethically complex decision making. So far, only limited international data exist on the way such values vary across different countries. We therefore established the NERSH...

Introduction We established the EXIstential health COhort DEnmark (EXICODE) to examine how existential and spiritual needs, practices and orientations in a secular culture are linked to health outcomes, illness trajectory and overall cost of care in patients. Substantial literature demonstrates that existential and spiritual well-being has positive...

Evidence of a possible association between religion and health in secular societies is sparse. We therefore conducted a nationwide study using data from 1,596 Danes aged 50+ who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) wave 1 (2004-2005) and were followed up between 2006 and 2015, to investigate the association...

Background: Professional empathy has been associated with a range of positive patient- and clinician outcomes and is therefore considered important to develop for future physicians. Measuring changes in empathy scores among medical students by using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (Student version) (JSE-S) has led to mixed results. So far, no invest...

Denmark is considered one of the World’s most secular societies, and spiritual matters are rarely verbalized in public. Patients report that their spiritual needs are not cared for sufficiently. For studying spiritual care and communication, twelve patients admitted to two Danish hospices were interviewed. Verbal and non-verbal communication betwee...

Background: Religiosity and/or spirituality (R/S) of physicians have been reported to inform behavior regarding religiosity and spirituality in clinical practice (R/S-B). Our aim was to study this association. Methods: Building upon a large international data pool of physician values we performed network and systematic literature searches using...

Research across healthcare contexts has shown that, if provided appropriately, spiritual care can be of significant benefit to patients. It can be challenging, however, to incorporate spiritual care in daily practice, not least in post-secular, culturally entwined, and pluralist contexts. The aim of this integrative review was to locate, evaluate a...

The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore sacred moments in religiously integrated group therapy for Danish Pentecostals who were experiencing a personal crisis (n = 18). This was a follow-up study based on data from 2009 and 2018. An interpretative phenomenological analytical approach was used to generate and analyze the data material. Th...

Background In Denmark and internationally, there has been an increased focus on strengthening palliative care by enhancing spiritual care. Dying patients, however, do not experience their spiritual needs being adequately met. Methods Through an action research study design with four consecutive stages, namely, observation in practice, reflection-o...

Many patients with cancer face existential challenges struggling to find mental respite from their illness and a space for processing and transforming difficult thoughts and concerns. Research has shown that providing a room for cancer patients’ own creative expression can foster healing processes and mental well-being. Using theories of Donald W....

Further improvement of spiritual care in palliative care is warranted. Particularly reducing barriers and enhancing spiritual care competencies among the healthcare professionals is needed. The aim was to develop a training course in spiritual care in close collaboration with patients and staff from two Danish hospices. We applied an action researc...

Background In order to facilitate better international and cross-cultural comparisons of health professionals (HPs) attitudes towards Religiosity and/or Spirituality (R/S) using individual participant data meta-analysis we updated the NERSH Data Pool. Methods We performed both a network search, a citation search and systematic literature searches...

The aim of this study was to explore how older adults (aged > 65) confronted with imminent death express their thoughts and feelings about death and dying and verbalize meaning. Furthermore, the aim was to investigate how health professionals could better address the needs of this patient group to experience meaning at the end of life. The study ap...

The aim of this article is to illustrate and outline an understanding of spiritual care as a process involving a number of organically linked phases: (1) the identification of spiritual needs and resources, (2) understanding the patient’s specific needs, (3) developing the individual spiritual care treatment plan, hereunder involving the relevant h...

We present knowledge from the field of psychology of religion for professional clinicians. The model “Search for the Sacred” and other concepts of psychology of religion are introduced: Sacred core and ring, sanctification, spiritual emotions, spiritual relationships, spiritual pathways, and sacred moments. These are discussed in relation to differ...

Background Patients approaching the end of their life do not experience their existential and spiritual needs being sufficiently met by the healthcare professionals responsible for their care. Research suggest that this is partly due to a lack of insight about spiritual care among healthcare professionals. By developing, implementing, and evaluatin...

Background In order to facilitate better international and cross-cultural comparisons of health professionals (HPs) attitudes towards Religiosity and/or Spirituality (R/S) we updated the NERSH Data Pool. Methods We performed both a network search, a citation search and systematic literature searches to find new surveys. Results We found six new s...

Research has shown that in groups of increasing age, religiousness becomes more prevalent. However, centenarians have only to a very limited extent been included in studies. The aim of this study is to characterize religious beliefs and practices in a larger sample of centenarians than have before been included in research on the matter. Using the...

Spiritual care is an area of growing focus in healthcare internationally as research shows that existential, spiritual, and/or religious considerations and needs increase with life-threatening illness, and that quality of life increases when spiritual needs are addressed through spiritual care. This study presents an overview of spiritual assessmen...

To explore patients’ existential challenges when living with chronic pain or multiple sclerosis, 23 semistructured patient interviews were conducted together with an interpretative, phenomenological analysis inspired by Søren Kierkegaard. Patients experienced their illness as a “stroke of fate” resulting in despair and a profound struggle to find o...

Objectives There are multitudes of existential feelings and considerations around childbirth, with both positive and negative sources of existential meaning; often they are mixed up, but they impact parents’ ideas of meaning and purpose in life. The aim of this study was to explore existential aspects of parenthood transition among new fathers and...

Many physicians remain reticent to initiate or partake in discussions about their patients’ religious and spiritual needs during the clinical encounter. Reasons for this may be insufficient time, capacity, education or training but may also be a product of variance in physicians’ own religious or spiritual characteristics. The aim of this paper was...

The amount of research concerned with the values of health professionals (HPs) is steadily growing. Around the world HPs face similar challenges when patients express their existential and spiritual views. How HPs engage these views, and the degree of embedment into consultations, differ across cultures. Today, more than ever before, researchers in...

Background Women’s reflections on existential meaning-making in relation to giving birth may seem indistinct in maternity services and have not been thoroughly explored in secular contexts. However, research suggests that childbirth accentuates spiritual and existential considerations and needs even in secular contexts highlighting the importance o...

Objectives The overall study aim was to synthesise understandings and experiences regarding the concept of spiritual care (SC). More specifically, to identify, organise and prioritise experiences with the way SC is conceived and practised by professionals in research and the clinic. Design Group concept mapping (GCM). Setting The study was conduc...

In the present study, we examine the correlation between religiosity and health-related risk behaviours among citizens aged 29–60 based on a cross-sectional survey in Denmark, known for its more secular culture. Health-related risk behaviours such as smoking and alcohol intake are known to increase the risk of developing one or more chronic or life...

Several studies in different countries have investigated the influence of physician characteristics (such as ethnicity, gender and personal values) on attitudes in end-of-life (EOL) decision-making. While patients and relatives formally decide about issues related to EOL, the physician often ends up with a pivotal role in the decision-making proces...

Background: Recent evidence suggests the effectiveness of stepwise, targeted approaches for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases with combinations of web-based and face-to-face interventions showing promising results. Objective: This paper reports on 1-year changes in health-risk behaviors, BMI, self-rated health, mental well-being, and...

Artiklen præsenterer en undersøgelse af. hvorvidt og hvordan de studerende oplevede et flipped learning undervisningsforløb i videnskabsteori som relevant, samt hvilke dele af undervisningen, de oplevede, understøttede deres læring. Et mindre mixed methods design blev benyttet. 36 studerende besvarede et spørgeskema med både kvalitative og kvantita...

In the following article, the restorative potential of the environment in a cancer rehabilitation programme is analysed and discussed. The programme was developed as a transdisciplinary cooperation of psychologists, theologians, philosophers, and artists. To investigate the importance of environments, six qualitative focus group interviews were per...

Spiritual care has been a growing focus in international healthcare research over the last decades. The approaches to spiritual care are many and derive from many different medical fields and different cultural contexts and often remain unknown across healthcare areas. This points to a potential knowledge gap between existing instruments and the kn...

Objective Previous research indicate that the FACIT‐Sp instrument is susceptible to bias when measuring spiritual well‐being in older patients. Our first focus was to evaluate the 2‐factor vs the 3‐factor model of the FACIT‐Sp and our second focus was to explore how these models behave for different age groups. Methods We used a large national coh...

Purpose To describe the development process of an existential support program and to explore participants' evaluation of supportive/unsupportive processes of change. Method A five-day existential support program called “Energy for life” was designed including three main elements: 1. existential group counseling, 2. art therapy and 3. interaction w...

Background Safeguarding the dignity of patients at the end of life is a key objective in palliative care practice in Denmark. The concept of dignity and how it influences a dying persons’ quality of life is thus influential in end‐of‐life care at hospices. However, what is meant by dignity, how dignity is understood and practiced by healthcare prof...

Background: Clinical empathy has been associated with positive outcomes for both physicians and patients such as: more accurate diagnosis and treatment, increased patient satisfaction and compliance, and lower levels of burnout and stress among physicians. International studies show mixed results regarding the development of empathy among future p...

Research to date has shown that health professionals often practice according to personal values, including values based on faith, and that these values impact medicine in multiple ways. While some influence of personal values are inevitable, awareness of values is important so as to sustain beneficial practice without conflicting with the values o...

Objective Research suggests that existential, spiritual, and religious issues are important for patient’s psychological adjustment when living with chronic pain and multiple sclerosis. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating how physicians experience and approach these patients’ needs. Design Physicians’ experiences with and approache...

Recent research in religiousness and health suggests that epidemiological forces can have opposed effects. Here we examine two forms of religiousness and their association with disease. We performed a cross-sectional study of 23,864 people aged 50+ included in wave 1 (2004-2005) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and a longitu...

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between self-reported spiritual/religious concerns and age, gender, and emotional challenges among cancer survivors who have completed a 5-day rehabilitation course at a rehabilitation center in Denmark (the former RehabiliteringsCenter Dallund (RC Dallund)). Methods The data stem f...

Research documents that many chronic non-malignant pain patients experience existential, spiritual and religious needs; however, research knowledge is missing on if and how physicians approach these needs. We conducted a systematic review to explore the extent to which physicians address these needs in their communication with chronic non-malignant...

Ethnic minority patients are overrepresented in Danish forensic psychiatry and knowledge is needed on how these patients are approached in relation to religious and cultural issues. The aim of this study was to investigate how psychiatrists in Danish forensic psychiatry approach religious ethnic minority patients. The study revealed positive approa...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests the effectiveness of step-wise, targeted approaches to prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCD), and combinations of web-based and face-to-face interventions have shown promising results. OBJECTIVE The present paper reports on changes in health-risk behaviours, body mass index (BMI), self-rated health, ment...

Secularization impacts most cultures and seems to be spreading still. What can we learn from the most secular nations in the world on how secularization impacts the relationship between religiousness, spirituality and health? Does secularization mean that religious and spiritual considerations during crisis vanish? Or is it rather the opposite, tha...

Background: Observational studies indicate that religious values of physicians influence clinical practice. The aim of this study was to test prior hypotheses of prevalence of this influence using a meta-analysis design. Methods: Based on a systematic literature search we performed individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) on data based...

Background: Facing a severe, chronic disease can be experienced as an existential crisis that may lead to a lower quality of life and even risk of suicide. Existential, spiritual and religious ways of meaning-making are in many cases positively related to health and can be important in times of crises. This project aims to study a gap in the curren...

This article presents the findings of an empirical research project on how psychiatrists in a secular country (Denmark) approach the religious patients, and how the individual worldview of the psychiatrist influences this approach. The study is based on 22 interviews with certified psychiatrists or physicians in psychiatric residency. The article p...

Objective. Religiousness has been found to protect against depression based on studies conducted in the USA, though there are limited data in the European population. We sought to evaluate the associations between religiousness and six depressive symptoms in Europeans age 50+. Study design. Longitudinal study. Methods. Our sample consisted of part...

Conclusion and perspectives A personalized and targeted prevention approach, focusing on patients at high risk of disease and patients with health-risk behavior may be effective in facilitating healthy lifestyle changes. Long term effects must be evaluated. Why The increasing burden of lifestyle-related diseases calls for immediate preventive actio...

Background: Research suggests Danes practice their spirituality and religiosity in private, and therefore tend to have fewer spiritual and religious resources and existential concepts compared to more religious people. However, international and Danish studies have shown correlations between life-threatening disease and intensification of existenti...

This project is part of a larger research effort focusing on incorporating the patient's existential needs in the communicative encounter through communication training programs for healthcare professionals across the healthcare system. The purpose of this research project is to develop a generic blended-learning training course on existential matt...

This study investigated the association between physicians' R/S characteristics and frequency of addressing patients' R/S issues. Information was obtained through a questionnaire mailed to 1485 Danish physicians (response rate 63%) (42% female). We found significant associations between physicians' personal R/S and the frequency of addressing R/S i...

This project is part of a larger research effort focusing on incorporating the patient's existential needs in the communicative encounter through communication training programs for healthcare professionals across the healthcare system. The purpose of this research project is to develop a generic blended-learning training course on existential matt...

Second victims are healthcare professionals (HCPs) who are involved in an unexpected adverse event, in a medical error or a patient related injury, and become victimised and traumatised by the event. Second victims may experience psychological distress, fear, loss of self‐esteem, feelings of guilt, anger, frustration, and fear of continued practice...

Livsstilsrelaterede sygdomme er en samfundsmaessig udfordring, som har stor betydning for borgernes livskvalitet og koster samfundet dyrt. Personer, der er storrygere, har et højt alkoholforbrug og fører en stillesiddende livsform, har naesten syv gange højere dødelighed end personer, der ikke ryger, drikker moderat og er fysisk aktive, og 80% af h...

Objective To describe midwives’ and obstetricians’ experiences on the level of support from colleagues and managers in Danish labor wards following adverse events. Design, setting and participants A 2012 National survey of Danish obstetricians and midwives was conducted to assess the level of support received in the workplace. Main outcome measures...

Objectives: Religiousness is associated with longevity and better physical health, which may be due to lifestyle choices. Here, we examine associations between religiousness and health, explained by lifestyle. Study design: This is a longitudinal study. Methods: Data came from23,864 people aged 50 and above included in the Survey of Health, Ageing...

This study presents psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life scale (SoMe-Da) and associations to socio-demographic and religious characteristics. Participants were 554 Danes, 66% women ranging in age between 15 and 91 years. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested a five factor structure for th...

Background: The consequences of lifestyle-related disease represent a major burden for the individual as well as for society at large. Individual preventive health checks to the general population have been suggested as a mean to reduce the burden of lifestyle-related diseases, though with mixed evidence on effectiveness. Several systematic review...

The purpose of this research project is; to develop, implement, and quality assure a post grade course in spiritual care for hospice personnel who care for dying patients and their relatives. The project has four phases that involve the patients, relatives, and personnel in the research process. The two first phases centre on exploring the field of...

Background: The first child's birth is for most mothers a profound experience carrying the potential to change life orientations and values. However, little is known of how becoming a mother influences the existential dimensions of life within the parental relationship for example how motherhood may change how we view our partner and what we find...

Objective: Our objective was to describe the development and evaluation of a course programme in existential communication targeting general practitioners (GPs). Design: The UK Medical Research Council’s (MRC) framework for complex intervention research was used as a guide for course development and evaluation and was furthermore used to structure...

Postsecular theory is developing in academic circles, including the psychiatric field. By asking what the postsecular perspective might imply for the secular discipline of psychiatry, the aim of this study was to examine the postsecular perspective in relation to the secular nature of psychiatry, by way of a narrative review. In a systematic search...