1 Religious Service, University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova , Lleida, Spain .
J Palliat Med. 2014 May;17(5):592-600. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2013.0569. Epub 2014 Apr 18.
Spiritual needs play an important role in palliative care as both a clinical dimension and a therapeutic strategy. However, recent studies have shown that the management of this dimension still remains a challenge at the clinical level of palliative care.
Our goal was to evaluate the spiritual needs of patients diagnosed with advanced and terminal cancer by the palliative care unit of a hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
An observational study was conducted that involved 50 patients who were recruited between May 2007 and January 2008. A questionnaire was used which included 28 items selected from a review of the literature; the responses were analyzed using a five-point Lickert scale. The results were grouped in 11 categories corresponding to different spiritual needs.
Two spiritual needs emerged as the most relevant for the patients: their need to be recognized as a person until the end of their life and their need to know the truth about their illness. The least important spiritual needs were identified as those: for continuity and an afterlife; to get rid of obsessions; to achieve freedom from blame and to be able to forgive others; and the need for reconciliation and to feel forgiven by others.
When patients knew the truth about their illnesses and they were treated with dignity, their most important needs were likely to be covered. These results suggest that patients receiving palliative care wish to live for the present with as much normality as possible and show only minor concern for their past and future.
精神需求在姑息治疗中起着重要作用，既是临床维度，也是治疗策略。然而，最近的研究表明，在姑息治疗的临床层面上，这一维度的管理仍然是一个挑战。
我们的目的是评估西班牙巴塞罗那一家医院姑息治疗病房中诊断为晚期和终末期癌症患者的精神需求。
进行了一项观察性研究，共纳入 50 名患者，他们于 2007 年 5 月至 2008 年 1 月期间招募。使用了一份问卷，其中包括 28 个项目，这些项目是从文献综述中选择的；使用五点李克特量表对回答进行分析。结果分为 11 个类别，对应不同的精神需求。
有两种精神需求对患者来说最为重要：他们在生命结束前被视为人的需求，以及他们了解自己疾病真相的需求。最不重要的精神需求被认为是：连续性和来世；摆脱困扰；免于责备和能够原谅他人；以及和解和被他人原谅的需求。
当患者了解自己疾病的真相并受到尊重时，他们的重要需求很可能得到满足。这些结果表明，接受姑息治疗的患者希望尽可能正常地活在当下，对过去和未来的关注较少。
