In the last fifteen years, the field of palliative care has experienced a surge in interest in spirituality as an important aspect of caring for seriously ill and dying patients. While spirituality has been generally recognized as an essential dimension of palliative care, uniformity of spiritual care practice has been lacking across health care settings due to factors like varying understandings and definitions of spirituality, lack of resources and practical tools, and limited professional education and training in spiritual care.
In order to address these shortcomings, more than forty spiritual and palliative care experts gathered for a national conference to discuss guidelines for incorporating spirituality into palliative care. Their consensus findings form the basis of Making Health Care Whole. This important resource provides much-needed definitions and charts a common language for addressing spiritual care across the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work, chaplaincy, psychology, and other groups. It presents models of spiritual care that are broad and inclusive, and provides tools for screening, assessment, care planning, and interventions. This book also advocates a team approach to spiritual care, and specifies the roles of each professional on the team.
Serving as both a scholarly review of the field as well as a practical resource with specific recommendations to improve spiritual care in clinical practice, Making Health Care Whole will benefit hospices and palliative care programs in hospitals, home care services, and long-term care services. It will also be a valuable addition to the curriculum at seminaries, schools of theology, and medical and nursing schools.
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Back to TabsList of Figures / ix
List of Tables / xi
Foreword by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD / xiii
Preface / xxi
PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1. Why Spirituality in Palliative Care / 3
2. Guidelines/Preferred Practices for Spiritual Care / 17
3. Spirituality: Defining the Concept / 21
4. Background: Historical Context of Spirituality in Palliative Care / 26
5. Professional Standards for Spiritual Care 33
PART 2: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING NCP GUIDELINES AND NQF PREFERRED PRACTICES
6. Spiritual Care Models / 55
7. Spiritual History Taking and Assessment of Patients and Families / 74
8. The Spiritual Treatment or Care Plan / 103
9. Interprofessional Considerations: Roles and Team Functioning / 140
10. Training and Certification / 155
11. Personal and Professional Development / 165
12. Quality Improvement / 178
13. Conclusion / 181
Acknowledgments / 183
Appendix A: Definitions Related to Spiritual Care / 191
Appendix B: Sample Spiritual Histories and Assessments / 198
Appendix C: Examples of Spiritual Screening Questions That Can Be Integrated into Hospital Intake Forms / 206
Appendix D: Spirituality Cases / 207
Appendix E: Professional Chaplaincy / 220
Appendix F: Listing of Research Instruments / 224
Appendix G: Listing of Curricula in Spirituality and Health / 228
Appendix H: Spirituality Centers and Other Relevant Websites / 229
References / 233
Index / 255
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