Spiritual care is a key domain of quality palliative care. Spiritual distress is highly prevalent in patients and their families facing serious illness. Guidelines support the ethical obligation of health care providers to attend to spiritual distress as part of total distress. All clinicians require education and support to provide this care to patients and their families facing serious illness.
Objective:
This project focused on the development of a curriculum for education of health care professionals in spiritual care. It was based on a consensus-derived generalist–specialist model of spiritual care, with all clinicians providing generalist–spiritual care and trained chaplains providing specialist spiritual care.
Design:
The curriculum was designed for classroom and online learning.
Setting:
The curriculum is appropriate for all clinical settings in the United States and internationally.
Measurements:
Needs assessment surveys and course evaluation data have provided a basis on which to develop and refine the curriculum. This curriculum is built on a pilot Interprofessional Spiritual Care Education Curriculum (ISPEC) course held at the Veterans Administration, DC.
Results:
Needs assessment and course evaluation data support the ISPEC course content.
Conclusions:
The ISPEC curricula serve as a much-needed training resource to improve spiritual care for all people with serious illness.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BalboniTA, FitchettG, HandzoGF, et al.: State of the science of spirituality and palliative care research part II: Screening, assessment, and interventions. J Pain Symptom Manage, 2017; 54:441–453.
2.
SteczP, KocurJ: Religiousness, religious coping with illness, and psychological function among polish elderly patients with osteoarthritis undergoing arthroplasty. J Relig Health, 2015; 54:554–570.
3.
FerrellBR, TemelJS, TeminS, et al.: Integration of palliative care into standard oncology care: American society of clinical oncology clinical practice guideline update. J Clin Oncol, 2017; 35:96–112.
4.
Delgado-GuayMO, ChisholmG, WilliamsJ, et al.: Frequency, intensity, and correlates of spiritual pain in advanced cancer patients assessed in a supportive/palliative care clinic. Palliat Support Care, 2016; 14:341–348.
5.
des OrdonsA, SinuffT, StelfoxH, et al.: Spiritual distress within inpatient settings—A scoping review of patient and family experiences. J Pain Symptom Manage, 2018; 156:122–145.
6.
SelmanLE, BrightonLJ, SinclairS, et al.: Patients' and caregivers' needs, experiences, preferences and research priorities in spiritual care: A focus group study across nine countries. Palliat Med, 2018; 32:216–230.
7.
CrispBR: Spirituality and Social Work. London: Routledge, 2016.
8.
JimHS, PustejovskyJE, ParkCL, et al.: Religion, spirituality, and physical health in cancer patients: A meta-analysis. Cancer, 2015; 121:3760–3768.
9.
SajjaA, PuchalskiC: Healing in modern medicine. Ann Palliat Med, 2017; 6:206–210.
10.
PuchalskiCM, KheirbekR, DoucetteA, et al.: Spirituality as an essential element of person-centered compassionate care: A pilot training program for clinicians. J Med Pers, 2013; 11:56–61.
11.
PuchalskiC, FerrellB, ViraniR, et al.: Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: The report of the consensus conference. J Palliat Med, 2009; 12:885–904.
12.
Clinical practice guidelines for quality palliative care. Domain 5: Spiritual, religious, and existential aspects of care. National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care. Alexandria, VA, 2018.
13.
CaldeiraS, TimminsF, de CarvalhoEC, VieiraM: Spiritual well-being and spiritual distress in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: Utilizing the SWBQ as component of holistic nursing diagnosis. J Relig Health, 2017; 56:1489–1502.
14.
FarsiZ: The meaning of disease and spiritual responses to stressors in adults with acute leukemia undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. J Nurs Res, 2015; 23:290–297.
15.
SteinhauserKE, FitchettG, HandzoGF, et al.: State of the science of spirituality and palliative care research part I: Definitions, measurement, and outcomes. J Pain Symptom Manage, 2017; 54:428–440.
16.
RassouliM, ZamanzadehV, GhahramanianA, et al.: Experiences of patients with cancer and their nurses on the conditions of spiritual care and spiritual interventions in oncology units. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res, 2015; 20:25–33.
17.
PuchalskiCM, BlattB, KoganM, ButlerA: Spirituality and health: The development of a field. Acad Med, 2014; 89:10–16.
18.
CummingsC, MasonD, SheltonK, BaurK: Active learning strategies for online and blended learning environments. In: Flipped Instruction: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice. IGI Global, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, 2017.
19.
PuchalskiCM, VitilloR, HullSK, RellerN: Improving the spiritual dimension of whole person care: Reaching national and international consensus. J Palliat Med, 2014; 17:642–656.
20.
HatamipourK, RassouliM, YaghmaieF, et al.: Spiritual needs of cancer patients: A qualitative study. Indian J Palliat Care, 2015; 21:61–67.
21.
BalboniMJ, SullivanA, EnzingerAC, et al.: Nurse and physician barriers to spiritual care provision at the end of life. J Pain Symptom Manage, 2014; 48:400–410.
22.
SelmanL, HardingR, AgupioG, et al.: Spiritual Care Recommendations for People Receiving Palliative Care in Sub-Saharan Africa. With Special Reference to Uganda and South Africa. London: Kings College, 2010.
23.
PASCOP, Spiritual Health Victoria: National Guidelines for Spiritual Care in Aged Care. Australia MA: Meaningful Ageing Australia, 2015.
24.
SwiftC: NHS Chaplaincy Guidelines 2015: Promoting Excellence in Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care. London: NHS England, 2015.
25.
World Health Organization:. Strengthening of Palliative Care as a Component of Comprehensive Care Throughout the Life Course: Resolution WHA67. 19. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2014.
26.
HarrisJI, UssetT, KrauseL, et al.: Spiritual/religious distress is associated with pain catastrophizing and interference in veterans with chronic pain. Pain Med, 2017; 19:757–763.
27.
SalsmanJM, PustejovskyJE, JimHS, et al.: A meta-analytic approach to examining the correlation between religion/spirituality and mental health in cancer. Cancer, 2015; 121:3769–3778.
28.
SiddallP, McIndoeL, AustinP, WrigleyP: The impact of pain on spiritual well-being in people with a spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord, 2017; 55:105.
29.
TrevinoKM, BalboniM, ZollfrankA, et al.: Negative religious coping as a correlate of suicidal ideation in patients with advanced cancer. Psychooncology, 2014; 23:936–945.
30.
FowlerJW, LevinRW: Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. San Francisco: Harper, 1984.
31.
Delgado-GuayMO, ParsonsHA, HuiD, De la CruzMG, ThorneyS, BrueraE: Spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain among caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. Am J Hosp Palliat Care, 2013; 30:455–461.
32.
FerrellB, CoyleN. The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
33.
SinclairS, McClementS, Raffin-BouchalS, et al.: Compassion in health care: An empirical model. J Pain Symptom Manage, 2016; 51:193–203.
HalifaxJ: GRACE for nurses: Cultivating compassion in nurse/patient interactions. J Nurs Educ Prac, 2014; 4:121.
36.
BurtonVL: Being-With dying: tacit wisdom embedded in the experiences of nurses. http://hdl.handle.net/10755/623557 (last accessed
May2007
).
37.
PuchalskiC.Lectio Divina Model of Compassionate Presence, invited paper (in preparation) JPSM Section on Humanities, Art, Language and Spirituality.
38.
MunhallPL.‘Unknowing’: Toward another pattern of knowing in nursing: Nurs Outlook. 1993; 41:125–128.
39.
The Collected Works John of the Cross. Trans. by Kavanagh K and Rodriguez O. ICS Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington, DC, 1979.
40.
PuchalskiCM: The FICA spiritual history tool# 274. J Palliat Med, 2014; 17:105–106.
41.
SulmasyDP: A biopsychosocial-spiritual model for the care of patients at the end of life. Gerontologist, 2002; 42:24–33.
42.
JeulandJ, FitchettG, Schulman-GreenD, KapoJ: Chaplains working in palliative care: Who they are and what they do. J Palliat Med, 2017; 20:502–508.
43.
BreitbartW, RosenfeldB, PessinH, et al.: Meaning-centered group psychotherapy: An effective intervention for improving psychological well-being in patients with advanced cancer. J Clin Oncol, 2015; 33:749–754.
44.
ScartonL, OhS, SylveraA, et al.: Dignity impact as a primary outcome measure for dignity therapy. Am J Hosp Palliat Care, 2018; 35:1417–1420.
45.
CifuG, PowerMC, ShomsteinS, AremH: Mindfulness-based interventions and cognitive function among breast cancer survivors: A systematic review. BMC Cancer, 2018; 18:1163.
46.
AkhtarS, BarlowJ: Forgiveness therapy for the promotion of mental well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence Abuse, 2018; 19:107–122.
47.
FerrellB, SunV, HurriaA, et al.: Interdisciplinary palliative care for patients with lung cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage, 2015; 50:758–767.
48.
SunV, GrantM, KoczywasM, et al.: Effectiveness of an interdisciplinary palliative care intervention for family caregivers in lung cancer. Cancer, 2015; 121:3737–3745.
49.
HodgeDR: Spiritual competence. In: Crisp BR, The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work. Abingden, Oxon and New York, NY, 2017, p. 282.
50.
RobinsonMR, ThielMM, ShirkeyK, et al.: Efficacy of training interprofessional spiritual care generalists. J Palliat Med, 2016; 19:814–821.
51.
HemmingP, TeagueP, CroweT, LevineRB: Demystifying spiritual care: An interprofessional approach for teaching residents and hospital chaplains to work together. J Grad Med Educ, 2016; 8:454–455.
