Analyzing the Effectiveness of Providing Religious and Spiritual-Based Care for Patients Currently Receiving Palliative Care Services

This literature review explores the effectiveness of providing spiritual and religious-based care to patients currently receiving palliative care settings. In the context of this research, palliative care is defined as the six month period before a person’s death. By examining peer-reviewed journal articles from 2020 to 2024, this literature review will incorporate findings from multiple studies (both qualitative and quantitative) in order to effectively compare and contrast spiritual and religious beliefs and practices for patients receiving palliative care. After thorough examination, collected research has demonstrated that individuals who receive both timely and frequent religious and spiritual-base care while on palliative care undergo a more peaceful transition during their death compared to those who do not. Research indicates that healthcare providers (more specifically, nurses) who implement spiritual care in a patient’s overall plan of care have patients who are more accepting of their transition from life to death. In addition, research findings demonstrate that patients who actively engage in religious and spiritual-based services have an absence of severe physical symptoms during the final moments of their life compared to those who do not. This research is crucial for all nurses, as building relationships with their patients can not only put the patients but the nurses themselves at ease when death is imminent or has already occurred.