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01-02-2020 | Care | Palliative and Supportive Care (MP Davis, Section Editor)

Patient Spirituality as a Component of Supportive Care: Assessment and Intervention

Authors: Karina D’Souza, MD, MPH, Alan B. Astrow, MD

Published in: Current Treatment Options in Oncology | Issue 2/2020

Opinion statement

National supportive care guidelines for patients with cancer include recognition of patients’ spirituality and spiritual needs. Experts differ on how best to address this dimension to our patients’ lives. Some suggest that patients’ medical team should take on spiritual care, and others suggest referral to chaplains or collaboration with outside clergy. In our view, the patient’s medical team ought to best acknowledge patient spirituality when so desired by the patient, but intervention in the case of serious spiritual crisis ought to be the responsibility of those with specific training in this realm. For some patients, “concordance” between the specific spiritual tradition of the patient and chaplain is necessary where for others, non-denominational, secular, or inter-faith chaplaincy services are welcome. The central role for physicians and nurses in this area, is listening, awareness, respect, and where necessary, referral.

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Title: Patient Spirituality as a Component of Supportive Care: Assessment and Intervention
Authors: Karina D’Souza, MD, MPH
Alan B. Astrow, MD
Publication date: 01-02-2020
Publisher: Springer US
Keyword: Care
Published in: Current Treatment Options in Oncology / Issue 2/2020
Print ISSN: 1527-2729
Electronic ISSN: 1534-6277
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-020-0701-y

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