Spiritual Care for Cancer Patients at the End-of-Life

• Published in: Healthcare (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 16; p. 1584
• Main Authors: Bacoanu, Gema, Poroch, Vladimir, Aniței, Maria-Gabriela, Poroch, Mihaela, Froicu, Eliza Maria, Hanganu, Bianca, Ioan, Beatrice-Gabriela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09-08-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Cancer; Cancer patients; Care and treatment; Chronic illnesses; Data collection; Decision making; Disease; end-of-life care; Home care; Medical personnel; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Palliative care; Pastoral medicine; Patient satisfaction; Professional ethics; Professionals; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Religion; Religious aspects; spiritual care; spiritual well-being; Spirituality; Surveys; Terminal care; Romania; Ukraine; Russia; spiritual well-being; palliative care; end-of-life care; spiritual care
• ISSN: 2227-9032; 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12161584

Spiritual care for patients at the end of life is an important element in their holistic care. The aim of this study is to assess the opinions of cancer patients with limited prognosis about the importance of faith in fighting illness and the factors contributing to a better adjustment to illness and to their self-reconciliation and spiritual well-being.
This study used a specially designed questionnaire for cancer patients with limited prognosis. The 30 respondents were patients with an estimated prognosis of less than 1 month, cared for in a unit with palliative and home care beds.
The patients emphasized the importance of family as a supporter in the fight against disease (90%), followed by faith (66.7%) and a care team (63.3%). The most common concerns expressed were related to the course of their disease, family distress, fear of death, and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Family and faith represent important factors in supporting and caring for a patient at the end-of-life. Patients who felt spiritually at peace and were supported in their faith by family and a priest had a better spiritual state.