Culture, spirituality, religion, and ritual

Culture, religion, and spiritual beliefs can profoundly affect the ways in which families cope with caring for a child living with a life-shortening illness. These patterns and belief systems may also impact how families navigate decisions and make sense of death and dying. People’s attitudes and beliefs affect the way in which they respond to others, particularly those whose views and lifestyles are different from their own. To be effective, caring professions need to be aware of their own social mores, prejudices, and worldview. Cultural sensitivity is required to comprehensively support a child and family especially at the end of life (EOL). The chapter starts by defining key concepts and then describes some common worldviews and religions with particular relevance to children’s palliative care and ends with an example from the traditional perspective from southern Africa.