What are the core elements of oncology spiritual care programs?

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Sinclair ◽  
Marlene Mysak ◽  
Neil A. Hagen
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Academic Program ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Factors Affecting

AbstractObjective:Tending to the spiritual needs of patients has begun to be formally recognized by professional spiritual care providers, health care councils, and health delivery systems over the last 30 years. Recognition of these programs has coincided with evidence-based research on the effect of spirituality on health. Palliative care has served as a forerunner to an integrated professional spiritual care approach, recognizing the importance of addressing the spiritual needs of the dying from its inauguration within Western medicine almost 50 years ago. Oncology programs have also begun to recognize the importance of spirituality to patients along the cancer continuum, especially those who are approaching the end of life. Although standards and best practice guidelines have been established and incorporated into practice, little is known about the actual factors affecting the practice of spiritual care programs or professional chaplains working within an oncology setting.Methods:Participant observation and interactive interviews occurred at five cancer programs after we conducted a literature search.Results:This study identified underlying organizational challenges, cultural and professional issues, academic program development challenges, administrative duties, and therapeutic interventions that determined the success of oncology spiritual care programs in practice.Significance of results:Although spiritual care services have developed as a profession and become recognized as a service within oncology and palliative care, organizational and operational issues were underrecognized yet significant factors in the success of oncology spiritual care programs. Spiritual care programs that were centrally located within the cancer care center, reported and provided guidance to senior leaders, reflected a multifaith approach, and had an academic role were better resourced, utilized more frequently, and seen to be integral members of an interdisciplinary care team than those services who did not reflect these characteristics.

The Fifth Domain of Palliative Care

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Alessandra Strada
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Spiritual Assessment ◽  
Palliative Care Setting ◽  
The Family ◽  
Spiritual Screening ◽  
Spiritual History

This chapter presents palliative psychology competencies in the fifth domain of palliative care, which addresses the existential and spiritual needs of the patient and the family. The constructs of spiritual screening, spiritual history, and spiritual assessment are discussed with attention to their application to the palliative care setting. Through clinical case vignettes and discussions, the chapter discusses how psychologists can effectively use spiritual screening and spiritual history to fully understand spiritual and existential needs. Ways of integrating spiritual concerns and needs during the therapy session are highlighted in this chapter. The interplay of psychological and spiritual concerns offers the opportunity for palliative psychologists and spiritual care providers to collaborate in the psychospiritual care of the patient and the family. Because interdisciplinary collaboration is a hallmark of palliative care, the chapter also describes examples of effective collaboration between psychologists and spiritual care providers, from assessment to treatment planning.

The Physician’s Role in Responding to Existential Suffering: What Does It Mean to Comfort Always?

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-12
Author(s):  
Hermioni L. Amonoo ◽  
Jennifer H. Harris ◽  
William S. Murphy ◽  
Janet L. Abrahm ◽  
John R. Peteet
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Existential Suffering ◽  
Existential Distress ◽  
Existential Needs ◽  
Instrumental Role

Existential suffering is commonly experienced by patients with serious medical illnesses despite the advances in the treatment of physical and psychological symptoms that often accompany incurable diseases. Palliative care (PC) clinicians wishing to help these patients are faced with many barriers including the inability to identify existential suffering, lack of training in how to address it, and time constraints. Although mental health and spiritual care providers play an instrumental role in addressing the existential needs of patients, PC clinicians are uniquely positioned to coordinate the necessary resources for addressing existential suffering in their patients. With this article, we present a case of a patient in existential distress and a framework to equip PC clinicians to assess and address existential suffering.

Provisional Educational Needs of Health Care Providers in Palliative Care in Three Nursing Homes in Ontario

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Patterson ◽  
William Molloy ◽  
Rosalie Jubelius ◽  
G.H. Guyatt ◽  
M. Bédard
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Pharmacological Management ◽  
Traditional Lectures

Health care providers in three nursing homes in Ontario were surveyed to determine educational needs, barriers to meeting these needs, and the preferred format for education. Of the 415 health care providers asked to participate, 225 completed the questionnaire. Need was expressed for the majority of the 35 educational topics identified, including the role of the palliative care team, management of physical symptoms, pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of pain, stress management, spiritual needs, culture and death, and counseling. Group discussions and seminars were favored over traditional lectures. The primary factors influencing attendance at a palliative care workshop were loss of pay and time and location of the workshop.

scholarly journals Spiritual Care in Advanced Dementia from the Perspective of Health Providers: A Qualitative Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Lucía Rocío Camacho-Montaño ◽  
Jorge Pérez-Corrales ◽  
Marta Pérez-de-Heredia-Torres ◽  
Ana María Martin-Pérez ◽  
Javier Güeita-Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Advanced Dementia ◽  
Research Guidelines ◽  
Qualitative Systematic Review

Background. Worldwide, 47 million people suffer from dementia. Despite recognizing the importance of spirituality within dementia care, it is still unclear how this should be integrated into dementia services. Aim. To explore the perspective of health professionals regarding the spiritual care of people with advanced dementia. Methods. A qualitative systematic review was performed following the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research guidelines for the study design. The inclusion criteria included original articles published from January 2008 to March 2019, using either qualitative or mixed methods. The quality of the articles included was evaluated using the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research, Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research, and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Synthesis of findings was performed using thematic analysis. Results. Twelve studies were included in the review. Seventeen categories were identified, grouped into four themes: (1) the perception of spirituality, including the failure to address the same, (2) the spiritual needs of people with advanced dementia, (3) spiritual needs from health care providers, and (4) addressing spirituality, with the following categories: music, significant activities, among others. Conclusions. Spirituality is not formally addressed in this population, and professionals do not feel confident enough to be able to integrate spirituality in their care. It is necessary to identify and record the spiritual needs of people with advanced dementia, as well as to design specific care programs.

Barriers to Addressing the Spiritual and Religious Needs of Patients and Families in the Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study of Critical Care Physicians

2020 ◽  
pp. 104990912097090
Author(s):  
Christian K. Alch ◽  
Christina L. Wright ◽  
Kristin M. Collier ◽  
Philip J. Choi
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Data Saturation

Objectives: Though critical care physicians feel responsible to address spiritual and religious needs with patients and families, and feel comfortable in doing so, they rarely address these needs in practice. We seek to explore this discrepancy through a qualitative interview process among physicians in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: A qualitative research design was constructed using semi-structured interviews among 11 volunteer critical care physicians at a single institution in the Midwest. The physicians discussed barriers to addressing spiritual and religious needs in the ICU. A code book of themes was created and developed through a regular and iterative process involving 4 investigators. Data saturation was reached as no new themes emerged. Results: Physicians reported feeling uncomfortable in addressing the spiritual needs of patients with different religious views. Physicians reported time limitations, and prioritized biomedical needs over spiritual needs. Many physicians delegate these conversations to more experienced spiritual care providers. Physicians cited uncertainty into how to access spiritual care services when they were desired. Additionally, physicians reported a lack of reminders to meet these needs, mentioning frequently the ICU bundle as one example. Conclusions: Barriers were identified among critical care physicians as to why spiritual and religious needs are rarely addressed. This may help inform institutions on how to better meet these needs in practice.

scholarly journals Multidisciplinary Training on Spiritual Care for Patients in Palliative Care Trajectories Improves the Attitudes and Competencies of Hospital Medical Staff: Results of a Quasi-Experimental Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joep van de Geer ◽  
Nic Veeger ◽  
Marieke Groot ◽  
Hetty Zock ◽  
Carlo Leget ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Multicenter Trial ◽  
Teaching Hospitals ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Objectives: Patients value health-care professionals’ attention to their spiritual needs. However, this is undervalued in health-care professionals’ education. Additional training is essential for implementation of a national multidisciplinary guideline on spiritual care (SC) in palliative care (PC). Aim of this study is to measure effects of a training program on SC in PC based on the guideline. Methods: A pragmatic multicenter trial using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design as part of an action research study. Eight multidisciplinary teams in regular wards and 1 team of PC consultants, in 8 Dutch teaching hospitals, received questionnaires before training about perceived barriers for SC, spiritual attitudes and involvement, and SC competencies. The effect on the barriers on SC and SC competencies were measured both 1 and 6 months after the training. Results: For nurses (n = 214), 7 of 8 barriers to SC were decreased after 1 month, but only 2 were still after 6 months. For physicians (n = 41), the training had no effect on the barriers to SC. Nurses improved in 4 of 6 competencies after both 1 and 6 months. Physicians improved in 3 of 6 competencies after 1 month but in only 1 competency after 6 months. Significance of Results: Concise SC training programs for clinical teams can effect quality of care, by improving hospital staff competencies and decreasing the barriers they perceive. Differences in the effects of the SC training on nurses and physicians show the need for further research on physicians’ educational needs on SC.

scholarly journals Staff Perceptions of How Music Therapy Can Support Palliative Care Patients in a New Zealand / Aotearoa Hospice, with a Particular Focus on Spiritual Care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keryn Squires
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Dying Patients ◽  
Over Time

<p>The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of staff from a hospice, in New Zealand / Aotearoa, regarding the use of music therapy in the care of dying patients. The study has a particular focus on spiritual aspects of palliative care in music therapy, as spirituality is an inherent aspect of the work done by caregivers in palliative care. Hospice staff were asked to reflect on what they knew and understood of music therapy before, and after, a music therapy student arrived at the hospice, and their narratives were explored to uncover the links between patients, music and spirituality. The aim of this was to identify what might be needed to increase knowledge, to improve referral processes, and to increase opportunities for collaborative team work. A cross-section of staff, i.e. two nurses, one doctor, an occupational therapist, and a counsellor, who were part of the palliative care team, were recruited to participate in two semi-structured interviews to discuss their perceptions of the potential for music therapy to support the spiritual needs of hospice patients. A qualitative approach was employed and narrative analysis was used to interpret the interviews. Narrative research emphasises the language of human understanding and in this research it involved gathering participants' 'stories' of their evolving perceptions over time. Findings suggest the language used to describe spiritual care in music therapy was different for each participant although common meanings were drawn from the participants' stories. Commonalities included: music therapy in the hospice was valued by the participants; some participants would like more knowledge to make an informed referral. In addition, staff understanding appeared to have increased over time partly due to educational seminars, sharing at team meetings, actual exposure to music therapy, informal conversations with staff, and participants' growing knowledge of music therapy through their own personal process of learning.</p>

scholarly journals The spiritual experience of dementia from the health care provider perspective: Implications for intervention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Palmer ◽  
Michelle Hilgeman ◽  
Tracy Balboni ◽  
Sara Paasche-Orlow ◽  
Jennifer L Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Spiritual Experience ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Medical Conditions ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Spiritual Assessment ◽  
Spiritual Distress ◽  
Loss Of Self

Abstract Background and Objectives Spiritual care aims to counter negative outcomes from spiritual distress and is beneficial to persons living with dementia. Such care needs dementia-appropriate customization. We explored the salient spiritual needs in dementia to inform future intervention development. Health care providers are well-situated to observe the nature of spiritual needs across and within medical conditions. Research Design and Methods We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with providers. We sampled purposively by discipline (chaplains, nursing staff, social workers, activities professionals) and religious tradition (for chaplains). Our interview guide inquired about, e.g., the nature of spiritual needs in dementia and stakeholders’ roles in addressing them. Inductive / deductive thematic analysis was employed. Results Twenty-four providers participated. The thematic structure consisted of two themes: 1) spiritual experience in dementia differs from that in other medical conditions (sub-themes: fear, profound loss of self, progressive and incurable nature, and impacted ability to access faith); and 2) the need for spiritual intervention at the mild stage of dementia (sub-themes: awareness in mild dementia and its influence on spiritual distress, and a window of opportunity). Discussion and Implications We learned about the potential “what” of spiritual needs and “who” and “when” of implementing spiritual care. Implications included the imperative for dementia-specific spiritual assessment tools, interventions targeting fear and loss of self early in symptom progression, and stakeholder training. Researchers should study additionally the “how” of dementia-appropriate spiritual care. Conjointly, these efforts could promote spiritual well-being in persons living with dementia worldwide.

Spiritual Screening, History, and Assessment

2019 ◽  
pp. 432-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Johnston Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
History Taking ◽  
Spiritual Assessment ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Screening ◽  
Screening History

Spiritual care is integral to palliative care. Palliative care patients and their family members often use spiritual coping strategies, and spiritual well-being is a commonly high-ranked pursuit for those at the end of life. Appropriate spiritual care, however, must reflect the spiritual needs and preferences of the care recipient. Thus, numerous approaches to spiritual screening, history-taking, and assessment exist. Whereas the spiritual screening is proposed as a skill and expectation that nurses and others can be trained to complete, the spiritual assessment is the domain of the spiritual care expert—typically, a skilled chaplain. These diverse approaches are described here along with some additional observations that can guide the process.

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