Spirituality among the Terminally Ill in a Rural Hospice Program

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Rural Health
• Spiritual Care

Background:

• Rural populations exhibit distinct healthcare attitudes and spiritual needs.
• They tend to be more religious, accepting of death, and less inclined towards aggressive end-of-life care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate chaplaincy service utilization in a rural hospice setting.
• To examine patient and family satisfaction related to spiritual care outcomes.
• To compare findings with national hospice benchmarks.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of chaplaincy service utilization among rural hospice patients.
• Assessment of patient and family satisfaction regarding spiritual themes.
• Statistical comparison of results against 1700 other hospice programs.

Main Results:

• Identified significant statistical differences between the rural cohort and national benchmarks.
• Observed a potential correlation between increased spiritual care utilization and enhanced hospice satisfaction.
• Noted improved assistance with sadness and anxiety in relation to spiritual care.

Conclusions:

• Chaplaincy services may play a crucial role in improving end-of-life care for rural populations.
• Spiritual care utilization is linked to higher patient and family satisfaction in rural hospice settings.
• Addressing spiritual needs can mitigate feelings of sadness and anxiety during hospice care.