PhD Scientific Days 2021

MH_II_L: Mental Health Sciences II. Lectures

Chronically Ill Elderly Patients' Spirituality in Palliative Care

Text of the abstract

Chronically Ill Elderly Patients' Spirituality in Palliative Care
Sipőcz Diána

Introduction
Due to multidimensional nature of palliative care we have to respond to psychological, social, spiritual aspects affecting physical state and overall well-being of dying people.
Dying people face their own vulnerability and they become open to the spiritual dimensions. They would often review their personal history, remember significant moments of their lives, relationships and supervise their value systems and beliefs.
Definition of spirituality is not yet fully consented. In the center of most definitions are search for meaning of life, connections with themselves and with others, nature and everything sacral.

Aims
The aim of our research is exploring the needs of spiritual care for chronically ill elderly people in palliative care. This knowledge can give us understanding spiritual needs, help improve spiritual care provided by palliative caregivers.

Methods
We can explore spiritual experience with qualitative research based semi-structured interviews that can hardly be analyzed by quantitative methods. 25 interviews are being made in our research focusing on spirituality of the patients, the changing roles and the needs of spiritual care. The Dignity Therapy question protocol was used as guideline in the interviews offering a chance for comparative research. Participants of the interviews are over 60, patients of hospice units or hospice homecare. Interviews are analyzed by ATLAS.ti program.

Result and Conclusion
The research is still in progress, at the moment we are recording the semi-structured interviews. 19 participants (11 women, 8 men) out of the planned 25 interviewees have already accepted to give an interview. Pilot study has been accomplished with 5 participants (3 women, 2 men). Clarity of the interview questions has been checked. Due to remarks the chain of thoughts of the interview has been modified. The length of the interview is acceptable for the dying patients who wish to speak about spiritual topics. The difficulty of the multiple interview is the worsening condition of the dying person and the short time.

Semmelweis University, Doctoral School of Mental Health Sciences
Supervisors: Dr. Katalin Hegedűs, Dr. Pál Péter Tóth
E-mail of the presenter: sipocz.diana@phd.semmelweis.hu
Language of oral presentation: Hungarian

University and Doctoral School

Semmelweis University, Doctoral School of Mental Health Sciences