Palliative Patients and Spiritual Distress: The Roles of Health Care Providers

Part I (of III)

In her review article, “Role of the Doctor in Relieving Spiritual Distress at the End of Life,” Karen Pronk discusses the roles of health care providers in relieving the spiritual distress of palliative patients. Drawing on a large body of literature, Pronk offers some definitions of spirituality and explores the issues related to spiritual care as raised in the research.

Good palliative care, as defined by the World Health Organization, addresses all aspects of suffering—physical, psychological, social and spiritual. “Spiritual care,” Pronk states, “requires awareness of the patient as a person, in the sense that the person is defined by his [or her] past roles and relationships, hopes and dreams, and a creative inner self, as well as a body in need of repair” (p. 419).

How one individual defines spirituality can differ significantly from another. For some, spirituality is something understood within the framework of traditional, organized religion and a belief in God (or in a god), while for others, their understanding of spirituality is far removed from such concepts. It is something not easily defined, and, as Pronk suggests, this is even more so for some health care professionals—“to the scientifically trained mind, ‘spirituality’ is a bit like jelly—good if you can grasp it, but notoriously difficult to pin down” (p. 420; citing Whipp). Nonetheless, “spiritual awareness has been widely recognized as heightened in people who are faced with their mortality, and it occurs frequently at diagnosis of an incurable illness” (p. 424).

Pronk, Karen. "Role of the Doctor in Relieving Spiritual Distress at the End of Life." American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine 22, no. 6 (November/December 2005): 419-425.