Exploring the Role of Spiritual Care in Enhancing Quality of Life Among Hospice Patients
Posted: Oct 03, 2022
Abstract
The integration of spiritual care within hospice settings represents a critical yet understudied dimension of palliative medicine. While physical symptom management has dominated end-of-life care protocols, the existential, meaning-making, and transcendent aspects of the human experience during terminal illness remain inadequately addressed in clinical practice. This research emerges from the recognition that quality of life at life's conclusion encompasses dimensions beyond physical comfort, extending into the realms of purpose, connection, and existential resolution. Traditional medical models often approach spiritual care as an ancillary service rather than a core therapeutic component, resulting in fragmented approaches that fail to capture the holistic nature of the dying process. Our investigation addresses this gap through a novel methodological framework that quantifies spiritual well-being as a measurable clinical outcome. The central research question examines how structured spiritual care interventions influence multidimensional quality of life indicators among hospice patients, with particular attention to existential distress, meaning reconstruction, and transcendent experiences. This study challenges conventional palliative care paradigms by positioning spiritual care as a primary rather than secondary intervention.
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