Assessment of Spirituality in Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care: Qualitative Study

Introduction:  Spirituality is an intrinsic component of human experience, with the manifestation of religious beliefs or experiences often observed in the health context. In palliative care, spiritual assessment seeks to understand the patient's relationship with these beliefs and the community, in an attempt to identify suffering inherent to the end-of-life condition.

Objective:  To analyze whether the assessment of spirituality is relevant for patients under oncological palliative care.

Method:  Observational, cross-sectional, and qualitative study conducted with oncological patients in palliative care, assisted by the Integrated Oncology Center and Home Care Service. Data collection was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire, utilizing the FICA Spiritual History Tool and the American College of Physicians’ Spiritual History instruments, followed by Thematic Content Analysis as proposed by Bardin.

Results:  Twelve patients were interviewed, identifying four thematic categories that express the participants’ spiritual experience: faith/belief, importance of faith; community, spiritual history, and therapeutic approach.

Conclusion:  The results showed heterogeneity in patients’ expectations regarding the approach to spirituality in the SUS, reinforcing the need for individualized care and its role as a coping resource.

Key words:
Spirituality; Palliative Care; Spiritual Therapies; Neoplasms/psychology