Perspectives on spiritual care at Hospice Africa Uganda

Kale, Sachin

doi:10.12968/ijpn.2011.17.4.177

Cited by 21 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Both ‘feeling at peace’ and ‘feeling life is worthwhile’ were interpreted in terms of patients’ perception of life and the world and relationships to others. A recent study in Uganda found that hospice staff also had a relational understanding of patients’ spiritual well-being in terms of interconnectedness and a person’s relationship to their culture, society, neighbours and family [43]. The influence of social relationships on spiritual well-being reflects the collectivism of African culture and the principle of Ubuntu , which appears in many African languages and expresses the view that the essence of being human is interconnectedness and one cannot exist as a human being in isolation [44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Peace’ and ‘life worthwhile’ as measures of spiritual well-being in African palliative care: a mixed-methods study

Selman

Speck

Gysels

et al. 2013

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

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BackgroundPatients with incurable, progressive disease receiving palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa experience high levels of spiritual distress with a detrimental impact on their quality of life. Locally validated measurement tools are needed to identify patients’ spiritual needs and evaluate and improve spiritual care, but up to now such tools have been lacking in Africa. The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) African Palliative Outcome Scale (POS) contains two items relating to peace and life worthwhile. We aimed to determine the content and construct validity of these items as measures of spiritual wellbeing in African palliative care populations.MethodsThe study was conducted at five palliative care services, four in South Africa and one in Uganda. The mixed-methods study design involved: (1) cognitive interviews with 72 patients, analysed thematically to explore the items’ content validity, and (2) quantitative data collection (n = 285 patients) using the POS and the Spirit 8 to assess construct validity.Results(1) Peace was interpreted according to the themes ‘perception of self and world’, ‘relationship to others’, ‘spiritual beliefs’ and ‘health and healthcare’. Life worthwhile was interpreted in relation to ‘perception of self and world’, ‘relationship to others’ and ‘identity’. (2) Conceptual convergence and divergence were also evident in the quantitative data: there was moderate correlation between peace and Spirit 8 spiritual well-being (r = 0.46), but little correlation between life worthwhile and Spirit 8 spiritual well-being (r = 0.18) (both p < 0.001). Correlations with Spirit 8 items were weak to moderate.ConclusionsFindings demonstrate the utility of POS items peace and life worthwhile as distinct but related measures of spiritual well-being in African palliative care. Peace and life worthwhile are brief and simple enough to be integrated into routine practice and can be used to measure this important but neglected outcome in this population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Peace’ and ‘life worthwhile’ as measures of spiritual well-being in African palliative care: a mixed-methods study

Selman

Speck

Gysels

et al. 2013

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

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“…Two studies reflected the experience of physicians: one focused on residents in family medicine [49], and the other focused on palliative care physicians [50]. Four addressed interdisciplinary care teams: palliative care staff [51,52], medical directors and chaplains [53], multifaceted organizational perspective (nurses, patients, family, chaplains, and hospital administrators) [54]. One study focused both on nurses' educational outcomes from a training session, as well as patient outcomes [55].…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-based spiritual care

Kalish

2012

Current Opinion in Supportive &Amp; Palliative Care

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Conceptual analysis combined with empirical study of care giver understandings of spiritual care will assist in developing clarity and consensus about the definition of spirituality and spiritual care. Investigation and conceptualization of interdisciplinary roles and provision of spiritual care is needed for optimizing collaborative care. More knowledge is needed about how to effectively teach spiritual care.

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“…[2][3][4][5] The traditional position of sub-Saharan West-African communities toward death and dead bodies can be summed up as follows. [6][7][8][9][10] There are three parts in Man: the body, in decomposition then putrefaction after death; the spirit, that stays on Earth (with deification by relics, for example); and the soul, that comes back to God (or the Gods). Death is thus a kind of birth in another world, as birth is a kind of death in another world.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%