Inner capacities, outer care: the contribution of spiritual and moral intelligence to compassionate nursing care: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

In this study, we examined the impact of nurses’ spiritual and moral intelligence on compassionate care. Evidence indicates that spiritual and moral intelligence can influence nurses’ capacity to provide compassionate care, which is a core component of nursing quality.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted from October to December 2024 on 127 nurses selected through cluster random sampling from teaching hospitals affiliated with Arak and Yasuj Universities of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, King’s Spiritual Intelligence Questionnaire, Lennick and Kiel’s Moral Intelligence Questionnaire, and Tehrani’s Compassionate Care Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression in SPSS version 26.

The nurses in our study demonstrated moderate spiritual intelligence (54.11 ± 13.68), good moral intelligence (73.81 ± 8.69), and satisfactory compassionate care (121.44 ± 14.94). We also found that spiritual intelligence (r = 0.304, P < 0.001) and moral intelligence (r = 0.536, P < 0.001) were positively correlated with compassionate care. In the regression analysis, moral intelligence was the only significant predictor (β = 0.54, P < 0.001), explaining 28% of the variance (adjusted R² = 0.28).

The results showed that although both forms of intelligence were positively associated with compassionate care, moral intelligence was the only significant predictor.