Spiritual Care in the Intensive Care Unit: A Narrative Review
Top Cited Papers
- 11 June 2017
- journal article
- review article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Intensive Care Medicine
- Vol. 33 (5), 279-287
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0885066617712677
Abstract
Spiritual care is an important component of high-quality health care, especially for critically ill patients and their families. Despite evidence of benefits from spiritual care, physicians and other health-care providers commonly fail to assess and address their patients’ spiritual care needs in the intensive care unit (ICU). In addition, it is common that spiritual care resources that can improve both patient outcomes and family member experiences are underutilized. In this review, we provide an overview of spiritual care and its role in the ICU. We review evidence demonstrating the benefits of, and persistent unmet needs for, spiritual care services, as well as the current state of spiritual care delivery in the ICU setting. Furthermore, we outline tools and strategies intensivists and other critical care medicine health-care professionals can employ to support the spiritual well-being of patients and families, with a special focus on chaplaincy services.Keywords
This publication has 71 references indexed in Scilit:
- Why Is Spiritual Care Infrequent at the End of Life? Spiritual Care Perceptions Among Patients, Nurses, and Physicians and the Role of TrainingJournal of Clinical Oncology, 2013
- Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance Among US Physicians Relative to the General US PopulationJAMA Internal Medicine, 2012
- A national study of chaplaincy services and end-of-life outcomesBMC Palliative Care, 2012
- Increased Access to Palliative Care and Hospice Services: Opportunities to Improve Value in Health CareThe Milbank Quarterly, 2011
- Comparing clinician ratings of the quality of palliative care in the intensive care unit*Critical Care Medicine, 2011
- “If God Wanted Me Yesterday, I Wouldn't Be Here Today”: Religious and Spiritual Themes in Patients' Experiences of Advanced CancerJournal of Palliative Medicine, 2010
- Provision of Spiritual Care to Patients With Advanced Cancer: Associations With Medical Care and Quality of Life Near DeathJournal of Clinical Oncology, 2010
- Providers and Types of Spiritual Care during Serious IllnessJournal of Palliative Medicine, 2008
- Is Failure to Meet Spiritual Needs Associated With Cancer Patients' Perceptions of Quality of Care and Their Satisfaction With Care?Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2007
- Clinical practice guidelines for support of the family in the patient-centered intensive care unit: American College of Critical Care Medicine Task Force 2004–2005Critical Care Medicine, 2007