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Palliative cancer care - general issues - Management
How should I assess the person's religious or spiritual needs?

  • Assessment of the person's spiritual needs should be repeated at key points during the course of the illness, including:
    • At the time of diagnosis.
    • Around treatment episodes.
    • As treatments end.
    • At the time of a relapse.
    • When death is approaching.
Clarification / Additional information
  • Spiritual need relates to a person's search for meaning within his or her life. Religion is a means of expressing underlying spirituality, but spiritual belief may not always be expressed in a religious way.
  • The level of support people need may range from an informal sharing of ideas about life, death, and the ultimate purpose of our existence, to the provision of formalized religious ritual.
  • Key issues in delivering effective spiritual and existential support to people who are receiving treatment or at the end of life include:
    • Listening to the person's experience and discussing their questions.
    • Affirming the person's humanity.
    • Protecting the person's self-worth, dignity, and identity.
    • Ensuring that spiritual care is offered as part of a holistic approach to health that also includes psychological, social and emotional care.
  • The person and their carers should have access to staff who are sensitive to their spiritual needs.
  • Multidisciplinary teams should have access to suitably qualified, authorized, and appointed spiritual care givers and should also be aware of local community resources for spiritual care.

[NICE, 2004]

Basis for recommendation
  • This recommendation is based on guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence [NICE, 2004].

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