Addressing Spirituality in Hospice

Summary Despite evidence of the importance of spirituality to terminally ill patients, the social work profession has developed few curriculum materials, practice models, or research on this topic. This chapter presents theoretical and empirical support for the proposition that transition to the transegoic stage of consciousness can promote a comfortable death for hospice patients and that hospice social workers should address spiritual issues in order to assist terminally ill patients and their families in making this transition. It also presents the results of a national survey describing and testing the effectiveness of some current social work approaches to addressing spirituality in hospice. Implications for practice and social work education are explored.