Opieka duchowa w ruchu hospicyjnym w opinii chorych terminalnie na podstawie badań wybranych ośrodków hospicyjnych w Polsce

Abstract

Spiritual care is one of the constitutive elements of hospice care. Apart from the medical level and psychosocial concern about the inner state of man, it is the essential part of the ministry to the dying man. All the above mentioned functions of a hospice unit are mutually conditioned and complementary. If we stress only one of them, it is detrimental to the others, and, consequently, we diminish the effectiveness of the ministry to terminal patients. The spiritual care is a complementary part of the work of the hospice staff. It is commonly assumed that the spiritual state of a sick person considerably affects the effectiveness of medical steps that are undertaken, and it diminishes psychological support. The internal slate of the sick is not indifferent to the social activity of the hospice staff. The empirical research among terminal patients included the question of the global altitude towards faith that the terminal patients adopt, the subject of spiritual care about the terminal patients, and the forms of spiritual care. On the basis of this research some pastoral conclusions have been drawn. The hospice staff believe that spiritual care is needed, but their belief is not proportional to the way they are prepared in this regard. The syllabuses designed to prepare can did ates for palliative and hospice care are deficient as regards the spiritual needs of man. It is of the utmost importance to put more value on the spiritual dimension of palliative care. To learn how human psyche works, a stage which usually finishes preparation in this regard, is only a beginning of the path towards knowing the world of the human spirit. We are not able to reach the end of this path, but the very awareness that it exists makes it that in spiritual aid palliative and hospice care we can notice the whole man and each in particular.