OBJECTIVE An important goal of cancer medicine is relief of patients' suffering. In view of the clinical challenges of identifying suffering patients, we sought to identify valid instruments for assessing the spiritual suffering of people diagnosed with cancer. METHOD A systematic review of the literature was conducted in the Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases seeki...

To explore how medical students-the doctors of tomorrow-reflect upon meeting the spiritual needs of their patients, and whether they have reflected on their own religious or spiritual beliefs, or not. The study also investigates to what extent the students feel comfortable with addressing spiritual issues in their patient care, and whether they feel this is beyond their role as medical doctors....

The development and the organization of chaplaincy in the European context are very diverse. The religious history and the culture of a country are the most determining factors. Still an increasing trend towards professionalism is noticeable. The number of professional associations for chaplains, for example, is growing. The need for professional chaplaincy is founded on the paradigm of whole p...

So what is known in the scholarship of religion and spirituality at this point of the 21st century? Definitions of spirituality show a growing understanding of the breadth and content of spirituality, and yet, there remains no firm definition. In one sense, it might be good that spirituality has not been tightly defined. Swinton and Pattison (2010, p231) note, “multiple definitions may be indic...

PURPOSE Approaching death seems to be associated with physiological/spiritual changes. Trajectories including the physical-psychological-social-spiritual dimension have indicated a terminal drop. Existential suffering or deathbed visions describe complex phenomena. However, interrelationships between different constituent factors (e.g., fear and pain, spiritual experiences and altered conscious...

BACKGROUND Although the General Medical Council recommends that United Kingdom medical students are taught 'whole person medicine', spiritual care is variably recognised within the curriculum. Data on teaching delivery and attainment of learning outcomes is lacking. This study ascertained views of Faculty and students about spiritual care and how to teach and assess competence in delivering suc...

Background: The evaluation of curricula shows that in educational systems, attention is paid only to the intellectual dimension of learners and other dimensions of existence, especially the spiritual and moral dimension, are neglected. The current research was conducted with the aim of providing a spiritual curriculum model based on ethics. Method: In terms of practical purpose, this research ...

BACKGROUND Holistic care that encompasses a spiritual dimension is an expectation in modern healthcare (Rothman, 2009). Increasing attention is being paid to the role of nurses in providing spiritual care to patients. However nurses lack specific skills and expertise in this area (Lundmark, 2006; Timmins, 2010; RCN, 2011), and the extent to which their undergraduate education prepares them for ...

Background: Spirituality is an important dimension of human existence with a crucial role in health promotion. This study aimed to investigate nurses’ attitudes towards spiritual care and its practice. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The relevant data were collected by Nursing Spiritual Care Perspective Scale (NSCPS). In this study, 166 nurses working in hospitals affiliat...