title: Spiritual beliefs, practices, and needs at the end of life: Results from a New Zealand national hospice study.
abstract: International studies have shown that patients want their spiritual needs attended to at the end of life. The present authors developed a project to investigate people's understanding of spirituality and spiritual care practices in New Zealand (NZ) hospices.
  
  
  
  A mixed-methods approach included 52 semistructured interviews and a survey of 642 patients, family members, and staff from 25 (78%) of NZ's hospices. We employed a generic qualitative design and analysis to capture the experiences and understandings of participants' spirituality and spiritual care, while a cross-sectional survey yielded population level information.
  
  
  
  Our findings suggest that spirituality is broadly understood and considered important for all three of the populations studied. The patient and family populations had high spiritual needs that included a search for (1) meaning, (2) peace of mind, and (3) a degree of certainty in an uncertain world. The healthcare professionals in the hospices surveyed seldom explicitly met the needs of patients and families. Staff had spiritual needs, but organizational support was sometimes lacking in attending to these needs.
  
  
  
  As a result of our study, which was the first nationwide study in NZ to examine spirituality in hospice care, Hospice New Zealand has developed a spirituality professional development program. Given that spirituality was found to be important to the majority of our participants, it is hoped that the adoption of such an approach will impact on spiritual care for patients and families in NZ hospices.
authors: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine,Dunedin School of Medicine,University of Otago,Dunedin,New Zealand.
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Egan
authors: HammondCare and the University of Sydney,Sydney,Australia.
authors: Rod
authors: R
authors: MacLeod
authors: Department of General Practice and Rural Health,Dunedin School of Medicine,University of Otago,Dunedin,New Zealand.
authors: Chrystal
authors: C
authors: Jaye
authors: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine,Dunedin School of Medicine,University of Otago,Dunedin,New Zealand.
authors: Rob
authors: R
authors: McGee
authors: Dunedin School of Medicine,Division of Health Sciences and Māori Health Workforce Development Unit,Dunedin,New Zealand.
authors: Joanne
authors: J
authors: Baxter
authors: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine,Dunedin School of Medicine,University of Otago,Dunedin,New Zealand.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Herbison
authors: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine,Dunedin School of Medicine,University of Otago,Dunedin,New Zealand.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Wood
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006738:Hospices / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013140:Spiritualism / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Existential; Hospice care; Palliative care; Patient needs; Spirituality