Spiritual Needs of Turkish Palliative Care Patients.

Abstract

Spiritual care is an integral component of palliative care and addresses the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of patients and their families. This study aimed to determine the spiritual needs of hospitalized palliative care patients in Turkey and to provide insights into culturally sensitive spiritual care practices. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 108 palliative care patients hospitalized in a public hospital between July 2022 and December 2023. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Turkish version of the Spiritual Needs Assessment Scale. The average age of the participants was 72.43 ± 15.53, and 50% were women. The most frequently reported spiritual needs in palliative care patients were "compassion and kindness" (59.3%), "feeling hopeful" (55.5%), "gratitude" (54.6%), "inner peace" (52.8%), and "companionship" (51.9%). Existential and relational dimensions, such as feeling connected to the world and receiving love, were identified in the data. The findings underscored the need for holistic approaches that integrate spiritual, cultural, and psychosocial dimensions into palliative care. Standardizing spiritual care practices and incorporating them into health care professionals' training could enhance the quality of care in Turkish palliative care settings.