The effects of spiritual care on quality of life and spiritual well-being among patients with terminal illness: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Terminal illness not only causes physical suffering but also spiritual distress. Spiritual care has been widely implemented by healthcare professionals to assist patients coping with spiritual distress. However, the effects of spiritual care need to be clear.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of spiritual care on quality of life and spiritual well-being among patients with terminal illness.

Design: Systematic review according to the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance.

Data sources: A comprehensive search was conducted in nine electronic databases from date of inception to May 2017. Hand searches of the bibliographies of relevant articles were also performed. The studies were independently reviewed by two investigators who scored them for methodological quality using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool.

Results: No statistical pooling of outcomes was performed and a narrative summary was chosen to describe the included studies. A total of 19 studies with 1548 participants were identified in the systematic review, corresponding to seven kinds of interventions. The risk of bias for these studies were all rated as moderate. A majority of studies indicated that spiritual care had a potential beneficial effect on quality of life and spiritual well-being among patients with terminal illness.

Conclusion: It is suggested that healthcare professionals integrate spiritual care with usual care in palliative care. When providing spiritual care, healthcare professionals should take into consideration patients' spiritual needs, preference, and cultural background. More multicenter and disciplinary studies with rigorous designs are needed in the future.

Keywords: Palliative care; quality of life; spiritual therapies; spirituality; systematic review; terminal care.