Understanding Spiritual Care: The Faith-Hope-Love Model of Spiritual Wellness.

Spiritual care has been associated with positive patient outcomes. Although nurses want to provide spiritual care, many have difficulty conceptualizing spiritual care outside of religion and religious activities. The Faith-Hope-Love Model of Spiritual Wellness, a theoretical model of spirituality and spiritual well-being, grounded in Christian theology and biblical text, can help nurses provide spiritual support to patients and families from multiple faith traditions or those without a faith background. Spirituality concepts are discussed, and description of how spirituality is related to finding meaning and purpose in life along with a summary of the spiritual needs identified from healthcare literature and the Bible, are provided.

Feasibility and acceptability of stepping exercise for cardiovascular fitness in women.

Nurses conducting clinical research often test the feasibility and acceptability of interventions before using them in large-scale experimental studies. This article specifically reviews stepping exercise as an intervention with women. In a literature review, three stepping modes (steptreadmill, bench/step, and stepper) were compared, with the steptreadmill being identified as the most advantageous for use in experimental research. An exemplar was constructed to illustrate feasibility and acceptability of steptreadmill exercise (motorized stair climbing) in 11 women with hypertension. Steptreadmill exercise is feasible and acceptable and shows promise for use in experimental studies where strict control over the exercise performed is required.

Readiness to exercise: a comparison of 3 instruments and an interview.

Exercise stage of change (ESOC), or readiness to exercise, has been measured using at least 13 instruments and 4 interviews, yet no comparison studies are available to determine optimal measures for use by health care providers. This pilot study compares ESOC classification between 3 instruments (scale-ladder, scale-true/false, and scale-5 choice); explores the feasibility of using a face-to-face structured interview; compares classification between instruments and interview; and examines the influence of sex, age, and education level on stage classification. Thirty healthy adults completed ESOC instruments in random order and then the interview. Scale-ladder and scale-true/false instruments exhibited almost perfect agreement (weighted kappa, 0.897). All instruments exhibited substantial agreement with interview (weighted kappa, 0.620-0.790). Stage classification did not differ significantly by sex, age, or education level. The authors recommend word clarification revision of the scale-5 choice instrument and further testing of the interview.