Digital Technologies and Online Tools in Spiritual Care Education and Training in Nursing, Chaplaincy and Other Healthcare Professions

A Scoping Review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.31886

Keywords:

Spiritual Care, spiritual care education (SCE), Spirituality, Digital Technologies;, Online Tools, Chaplaincy, Nursing, healthcare professionals, Health and Social care Students, education, training, clinical pastoral education

Abstract

Spirituality and spiritual care are integral to holistic healthcare, requiring collaboration among healthcare and chaplains or other religious professionals. The European Association for Palliative Care highlights the multidimensional nature of spiritual care, with the EPICC project advancing nursing education in this area. Integrating technology into spiritual care education should be considered for nursing curricula. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology, this review maps evidence on using digital technology and online tools in spiritual care education and training. The literature search was conducted on CINHAL Complete, Medline Complete, PubMed, and Web of Science (2010-2024). Thirteen reports across various countries were included, involving nurses, medical professionals, chaplains, and other healthcare students/professionals. Findings indicate the available technology and online tools in spiritual care education and training and how their incorporation in curricula can enhance the overall learning experience.

Author Biographies

  • Sara Sitefane, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

    Sara Sitefane is a Specialist Nurse in Community Nursing since 2006, currently serving at ULS Lisboa Ocidental, USF Santo Condestável. She holds a Nursing degree from Universidade Atlântica (2005/2006) and two Master’s degrees in Community Nursing and Health Unit Management from the Catholic University of Portugal (2010/2011). She completed a Postgraduate Course in Nursing Supervision at Escola Superior de Saúde Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa in 2019. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Nursing at the Catholic University of Portugal (2020–2024) and is as an Assistant Professor and Researcher at the same university since 2023.

  • Ana Afonso, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

    Ana Afonso is a PhD Nursing student at the Catholic University of Portugal, where she is a member of the Spirit in Health research group at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS). Nurse, graduated from the Nursing School of Lisbon, post-graduate in Sexual Health, master’s in nursing management, post-graduate in Health Quality, Master’s and Specialist in Community Health Nursing. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Catholic University of Portugal and a nurse at the Gago Coutinho Family Health Unit (ULS Estuário do Tejo).

  • Reinhard Grabenweger, Paracelsus Medical University

    Reinhard Grabenweger is a nurse working on a neurosurgical ward in Austria. He is currently a PhD student in Nursing and Allied Health Sciences at the Institute of Nursing Science and Practice at the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg. His fields of interest include spiritual care, neurosurgical care, and qualitative research.

  • Isabel Rabiais , Universidade Atlântica Portuguesa

    Isabel Rabiais is a nurse (1995), holding a master degree in Educational Sciences (2007) and PhD in Nursing at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (2014). She is a coordinator teacher professor at the Escola Superior de Saúde Atlântica of Portugal. She is a specialist in medical– surgical nursing (Critical ill patients). She is an integrated researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS).

  • Piret Paal, University of Tartu

    Dr. Piret Paal is an Estonian researcher and academic deeply engaged in advancing knowledge at the intersection of health, culture, and social sciences. With a background in medical anthropology, her work explores the social and spiritual dimensions of health and well-being, with particular emphasis on the impacts of culture, language, and policy on healthcare practices and patient experiences. Dr. Paal is part of a COST Action project, which focuses on collaborative European research to address access to palliative care education. She works at the University of Tartu at the Institute of Cultural Research.

  • Sílvia Caldeira, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

    Sílvia Caldeira is a nurse (2000), holding a master degree in bioethics (2008) and PhD in Nursing at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (2013). She is an associate professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing at the Catholic University of Portugal. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin in 2015. Pediatric nurse and specialist in medical-surgical nursing (patients with chronic illness). She is an integrated researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS), where she coordinates the spirit in health project. Director of the PhD in Nursing.

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Sitefane, S., Afonso, A., Grabenweger, R., Rabiais , I., Paal, P., & Caldeira, S. (2025). Digital Technologies and Online Tools in Spiritual Care Education and Training in Nursing, Chaplaincy and Other Healthcare Professions: A Scoping Review. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.31886