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Four aspects of spiritual care: a phenomenological action research study on practicing and improving spiritual care at two Danish hospices.
- Source :
- Palliative Care & Social Practice; 1/1/2021, p1-14, 14p
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Background: In Denmark and internationally, there has been an increased focus on strengthening palliative care by enhancing spiritual care. Dying patients, however, do not experience their spiritual needs being adequately met. Methods: Through an action research study design with four consecutive stages, namely, observation in practice, reflection-on-praxis, action-in-praxis, and evaluation of the action research process involving patients and hospice staff from two hospices in Denmark, two research questions were explored: (1) How do patients and staff perceive, feel, live, practice, and understand spiritual care at hospice? and (2) How can spiritual care be improved in hospice practice? The data material presented comprised 12 individual interviews with patients and nine focus group interviews with the staff. Results: We found four aspects of spiritual care through which patients and staff seemed to perceive, feel, live, practice, and understand spiritual care at hospice, and from where spiritual care may be improved in hospice practice. These aspects constituted four themes: (1) relational, (2) individualistic, (3) embodied, and (4) verbal aspects of spiritual care. Conclusion: Staff realized immanent limitations of individual aspects of spiritual care but learned to trust that their relational abilities could improve spiritual care. Embodied aspects seemed to open for verbal aspects of spiritual care, but staff were reluctant to initiative verbal dialogue. They would bodily sense values about preserving patients' boundaries in ways that seemed to hinder verbal aspects of spiritual care. During action-in-praxis, however, staff realized that they might have to initiate spiritual conversation in order to care for patients' spiritual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- HOSPICE care
HEALTH facility employees
PROFESSIONAL ethics
FOCUS groups
ATTITUDE (Psychology)
MEDICAL personnel
INTERVIEWING
PATIENT psychology
SOCIAL boundaries
PSYCHOSOCIAL factors
ACTION research
COMMUNICATION
EMOTIONS
MEDICAL practice
COGNITIVE testing
PATIENT-professional relations
SPIRITUAL care (Medical care)
REFLECTION (Philosophy)
TRUST
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 26323524
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Palliative Care & Social Practice
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 154321744
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/26323524211050646