Spiritual Care For Advanced Cancer Patients Improves Quality Of Life

Posted Wed, 2009/12/23 - 08:28 by Amer Kaissi

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Hospitals have an obligation to provide the best quality of care for their patients based on the most accurate scientific evidence, as provided by the best trained medical providers and through the use of the latest medical technology. In recent years, more and more hospitals are starting to focus not just on the medical care, but also on the spiritual and religious care of their patients.

Spiritual and religious services typically provided in hospitals include listening, conversations about hope, gratitude, fear, meaning, prayers and blessings, as well as connecting the patient to his/her faith tradition through hospital staff, volunteers and referrals to community resources.

While many people understand the importance of such services for patients, some are skeptical about whether this “touchy-feely” stuff has an effect medical care and quality of life. A recent study proves these skeptics wrong as it reports that patients whose spiritual needs are supported by their medical team have better quality of life near death and receive less aggressive medical care at the end of life.

The study followed 343 patients with advanced cancer over a period of six years. Advanced cancer is cancer that has grown beyond the organ where it first started and has spread widely throughout the body. Patients were asked about how they coped with their cancer, the degree to which their spiritual needs were met by their medical team, and their preferences regarding end of life care.

End of life care for patients with terminal illnesses can include very aggressive measures such as resuscitation, or less aggressive care such as hospice care. Hospice care includes medical, psychological and spiritual support for the patient and his/her family members. Its goal is to help dying patients have peace and dignity by controlling pain and other symptoms so they can remain as alert and comfortable as possible.

Advanced cancer patients whose spiritual needs were largely or completely supported by the medical team received more hospice care in comparison with those not supported. For patients who relied on their religious beliefs to cope with their illnesses, spiritual support increased their likelihood of receiving hospice care and reduced their likelihood of receiving aggressive medical treatments. Moreover, patients who received spiritual support from the medical team and pastoral care visits had higher quality of life scores.

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