Spiritual Care in Palliative Care -

Spiritual Care in Palliative Care

What it is and Why it Matters

Megan C. Best (Herausgeber)

Buch | Hardcover
VIII, 672 Seiten
2024 | 2024
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-031-50863-9 (ISBN)
149,79 inkl. MwSt

An international panel of experts have contributed to create the first comprehensive guide to spiritual care focussing on the palliative care setting from neonatal to aged care, combining the theoretical underpinnings of spirituality research with practical applications for its introduction into patient care. This book is structured to give a detailed understanding of the importance of spirituality for patients approaching the end of life as well as the impact of spiritual care on patients, families and carers. As the first step towards reaching this goal, the need for spiritual care training of clinicians is outlined, including the crucial step of nurturing one's own spiritual life. Ways to identify and assess patients' spiritual needs are explained. The experience of existential suffering is explored along with discussion of the ways it can manifest and how it can be addressed. The implementation of spiritual care in the clinical setting is detailed with illustrations of the roleof each member of the palliative care team and the benefits of an institutional approach.

This valuable resource provides not only empirical evidence for the importance of spiritual care but also practical guidance for those wishing to practice it. It is ideal for all those caring for patients of all ages at the end of life, including palliative care clinicians, spiritual care professionals, students and researchers, and anyone interested in creating meaning in the face of imminent death.


Associate Professor Megan C Best is a Research Associate at the Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia, and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Medical School. She is Director of Ethicentre and a member of the European Association of Palliative Care Spiritual Care Reference Group and the international Joint Research Council for chaplaincy research.

She has over 30 years' experience as a palliative care physician, medical ethicist and researcher. She developed her interest in spirituality in healthcare when she observed the importance of meaning-making for her patients at the end of life. Her research on the spiritual care of patients has influenced the development of training for healthcare professionals internationally and she runs a comprehensive research program focusing on ways to develop whole person care at the end of life.


Foreword.- Preface.- Part 1: Introduction.- 1. What is spirituality.- 2. The spiritual experience of dying.- 3. Spiritual needs in palliative care patients.- 4. Dreams and visions.- 5. Deathbed visions and the moment of death.- Part 2: Diversity.- 6. The role of religious beliefs.- 7. Maori spiritual care during COVID-19 lockdowns.- 8. Muslim patients.- 9. Spiritual Care for Buddhist Patients in Taiwan.- 10. Spititual aspects of end of life care for Christian patients.- 11. Spiritual care in Palliative Care: Hinduism perspective.- 12. Judaism.- 13. Clinical Practice of Spiritual Care by Nurses for Non-Religious Patients: A Japanese Perspective.- Part 3: Impact.- 14. Impact of Spiritual Care on Patient Outcomes at the End of Life .- 15. Spirituality and pain control.- 16. Spirituality and mental health.- Part 4: Practice.- 17. Assessment of spirituality.- 18. Spiritual care therapeuticsat the end of life.- 19. Barriers to spiritual care.- 20. Reaching spiritual realms through music in serious illness care.- 21. The place of Ritual in Spiritual Care.- 22. The role of spiritual care in palliative care during a pandemic.- 23. Public Health approaches to spiritual care.- Part 5: Suffering.- 24. Existential distress at the end of life.- 25. Demoralisation.- 26. Desire for hastened death.- 27. The existential dimension of loss and grief.- 28. Prevention and treatment of suffering through mindfulness.- Part 6: Training .- 29. Interprofessional spiritual care education and training for palliative care.- 30. The role of the doctor.- 31. The role of the nurse.- 32. The role of the chaplain.- 33. The Role of Social Worker.- 34. Cultural safety in palliative care.- 35. Compassion.- 36. Self-care for staff.- Part 7: Special Groups.- 37. Spiritual care in neonatal palliative care.- 38. Caring Spiritually for Children in Palliative Care - both when they are relatives of dying family members or terminally ill themselves.- 39. Spirituality for young adults.- 40. Family carers.- 41. Spiritual care of the elderly.- 42. People living with dementia.- 43. The bereaved.- Part 8: Policy.- 44. Ethics of spiritual care.- 45. Introduction of national guidelines for multi-professional spiritual care in PC.- 46. Organizational and Leadership Factors for Spiritual Care Implementation.

Erscheint lt. Verlag 30.9.2024
Zusatzinfo Approx. 685 p. 2 illus.
Verlagsort Cham
Sprache englisch
Maße 155 x 235 mm
Themenwelt Medizin / Pharmazie Medizinische Fachgebiete Palliativmedizin
Schlagworte End of Life • Existential • Hospice • Meaning making • Palliative Care • Religion • Spiritual Care • Spirituality
ISBN-10 3-031-50863-7 / 3031508637
ISBN-13 978-3-031-50863-9 / 9783031508639
Zustand Neuware
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