Spiritual care is at the center of hospice and palliative care. Patients facing serious and life-threatening illness have important needs in regard to faith, hope, and existential concerns. The purpose of this article is to review the key aspects of this care, including the definitions of spirituality, spiritual assessment, and spiritual care interventions. A review of the current literature was conducted to identify content related to spiritual care in hospice and palliative care. A growing body of evidence supports the importance of spiritual care as a key domain of quality palliative care. The literature supports the importance of spiritual assessment as a key aspect of comprehensive patient and family assessment. Spirituality encompasses religious concerns as well as other existential issues. Future research and clinical practice should test models of best support to provide spiritual care.
Existentialism ; Hope ; Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Needs Assessment ; Palliative Care* ; Spirituality