“Give them the door but don’t push them through it”: Family Attitudes Toward Physician-Led Spiritual Care in Pediatric Palliative Medicine
Family Attitudes; palliative care; pediatric; pediatric palliative care; pediatric palliative medicine; physicians; qualitative; religious care; spiritual care
Little is known about pediatric caregivers’ perceptions of religious or spiritual (R/S) care provided by physicians. We conducted a qualitative, semistructured interview study to understand perceptions of pediatric caregivers toward physician-led R/S care. Participants were 20 primary caregivers whose children were hospitalized and receiving palliative care services. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using constant comparative methods. Three recurrent themes emerged regarding physician-led R/S care: (1) Most caregivers view providing R/S care as a positive sign of physician empathy, while a minority (3/20) prefer to keep R/S and medical care separate, (2) many caregivers prefer R/S care from a physician with whom they have a close relationship and/or share a faith background, and (3) physicians should open the door, but allow families to lead conversations about R/S care. Caregivers have mixed perceptions on physicians engaging in R/S care; most prefer that families set the direction of R/S care for themselves and their loved ones. Physicians should be trained to evaluate families’ spiritual backgrounds and needs in ways that respectfully open the door to these conversations.
McNamara L C; Okoniewski W; Maurer S H; Moehling K; Hall D E; Schenker Y
Journal of Religion and Health
2020
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-00991-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1007/s10943-020-00991-z</a>
Pediatric Resident's Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Spiritual Assessment and Care: An Educational Intervention. (FR408C)
attitude; Caucasian; child; clinical article; comfort; conference abstract; controlled study; female; human; Likert scale; palliative therapy; pediatric patient; resident; role playing; Wilcoxon signed ranks test
Objectives: * Recognize the importance of religious/spiritual assessment and care in pediatric patients with serious illness. * Identify the elements of a spiritual assessment. * Assess the needs of pediatric residents in religious and spiritual assessment in children with serious illness.
Delaney C; Moehling K; Maurer S
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
2020
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.12.120" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.12.120</a>