title: The quality of spiritual care--developing a standard.
abstract: Spiritual care is an important aspect of holistic care. However, it is seldom the subject of audit, or included in quality standards. This article reports on the work of the Trent Hospice Audit Group (THAG) into the development of a quality standard for the assessment, delivery and evaluation of spiritual care. The standard was drafted by a multidisciplinary team and circulated among the THAG user group and other interested specialists, and subsequently revised. Three levels of assessment are defined and the different levels of expertise needed for these assessments identified. Education has been highlighted as a key issue in enabling effective use of the standard package. Although acknowledging possible limitations and the importance of professional judgement, the standard should help provide a consistent approach to assessment, care planning and outcome review of spiritual care.
authors.affiliation: Sheffield Palliative Care Studies Group, University of Sheffield, Academic Palliative Medicine Unit, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cobb
authors.forename: Vaughan L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Keeley
authors.forename: Sam H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ahmedzai
mesh_terms: D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards; D004739:England; D006304:Health Status; D006694:Holistic Health; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009731:Nursing Audit; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010327:Pastoral Care / Q000592:standards*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011788:Quality of Life; D026443:Spiritual Therapies / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*