Making the Case: Spiritual Care in Palliative Care
According to the National Palliative Care Registry, even as the number of palliative care programs grow, 44% of programs with complete interdisciplinary teams still report only a 0.5 FTE chaplain. Of the 56% of programs without a complete interdisciplinary team, 70% report no chaplain FTE. Forty percent of palliative care teams with a chaplain fund these positions through "in kind" or volunteer staffing models, while the remaining 60% are funded directly through the palliative care budget.
With the great opportunities for growth in palliative care chaplain staffing, the Coalition not only supports spiritual care as an essential component of quality palliative care but also advocates for palliative care chaplain staff positions to provide speciality expertise in the unique spiritual concerns of those living with or affected by serious, advanced illness.
With that in mind, the following clinical practice guidelines provide endorsement for spiritual care as a mandatory component of palliative care, preferably provided by a trained, board-certified chaplain.
Supportive Care Coalition Spiritual Dimension Assessment Tool
UPDATED PALLIATIVE CARE SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT TOOL - from the National Association of Catholic Chaplains
The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale-Financial Distress and Spiritual Pain (ESAS-FS)
A Three-Part Special Report from a Conference on the State of the Science of Spirituality and Palliative Care Research