Caring for the spirit: lessons from working with the dying

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Spiritual Care
• Healthcare Ethics

Background:

• Spiritual care is fundamental to palliative care.
• Palliative care's expertise in spiritual care is valuable for the growing interest in spirituality within healthcare.
• Spirituality is defined as the network of relationships providing life coherence and individual identity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the significance of spiritual care within palliative care.
• To explore the transferability of the palliative care approach to spiritual care into other contexts.
• To emphasize the role of spiritual care in supporting meaning-making and personal autonomy.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of spiritual care in palliative care.
• Examination of the principles and practices of spiritual care.
• Discussion of the shared responsibility and leadership in delivering spiritual care.

Main Results:

• Palliative care offers a robust model for delivering spiritual care.
• The palliative care approach to spiritual care is adaptable to diverse settings and individual practices.
• Spiritual care is best understood as a supportive, non-imposed process.

Conclusions:

• The palliative care model of spiritual care is a valuable resource for healthcare.
• Spiritual care should be integrated into broader healthcare practices to support patient well-being.
• The principles of offering spiritual care to foster meaning and autonomy are universally applicable.