Abstract
Concerns of a spiritual nature often arise at the end of life and may significantly affect the desire to live. Caring for a person with a terminal illness is often accompanied by religious, spiritual or existential needs, concerns and questions. In this chapter, the authors highlighted the main spiritual needs of the patient with an incurable chronic disease, as well as those of their family caregivers. They also highlighted the main limitations of spiritual care during end-of-life and how healthcare professionals can include this care into their daily clinical practice. It is emphasized that the spiritual evaluation can be conducted in different ways; each professional can determine the most appropriate method for their routine. Some mnemonic tools have been developed to help healthcare professionals when taking the spiritual history. However, the important factor in this evaluation is that it should be broad, complete and not limited merely to religious aspects.
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Paiva, B.S.R., Paiva, C.E. (2019). Spiritual Care at the End of Life. In: Lucchetti, G., Prieto Peres, M.F., Damiano, R.F. (eds) Spirituality, Religiousness and Health. Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21221-6_14
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