Palliative care is a series of actions aiming to offer support to parents and their infants in order to improve their quality of life. Despite optimal outcomes, the provision of palliative care for infants and achieving these outcomes may be hardly feasible. The present study aimed to investigate the barriers to palliative care and gain insight into the solutions. Accordingly, the obstacles wer...

Considering and respecting religious beliefs and values is vital for delivering integral health care. This study describes the religious principles and guidance provided by Catholic priests on sexuality and reproduction. The oral history method was used. Interviews were carried out between August 2007 and May 2008 and were analyzed in an inductive and interpretive manner to acquire a deep focus...

OBJECTIVES Religion and spirituality are increasingly recognized as important in the care of seriously ill patients. This study evaluates religious and spiritual beliefs and practices among pediatric oncology faculty and compares their religiosity and spirituality to the general public. METHODS Information was gathered from a sampling frame of all pediatric oncology faculty working in 13 US N...

The current study analyzes data from 30,995 chaplain visits with patients and families that were part of the New York Chaplaincy Study. The data were collected at 13 healthcare institutions in the Greater New York City area from 1994-1996. Seventeen chaplain interventions were recorded: nine that were religious or spiritual in nature, and eight that were more general or not specifically religio...

AIMS AND BACKGROUND This literature review investigates the potential contribution of the pastoral care provided in hospitals by hospital chaplains, as part of an integrated view of patient care, particularly in institutions dealing with severe disease. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN A search was conducted in the Medline database covering the last 10 years. RESULTS Ninety-eight articles were cons...

A national random sample of hospital directors was asked to rate the importance of seven categories of chaplain roles and functions: 246 nursing directors, 267 social services directors, 307 medical directors, and 611 pastoral care directors. All four groups rated end-of-life care, prayer, and emotional support as being between very important and extremely important. Other roles, including cons...

Patient requests for "inappropriate" medical treatment (violations of the standard of care) based on religious beliefs should have special standing. Nevertheless, not all such requests should be honored, because some are morally disturbing. The trouble lies in deciding which ones count. This paper proposes criteria that would qualify a religious belief as medically valid to help physicians deci...

Understanding the beliefs and knowledge related to women's sexuality is important when working with unique religious groups in order to provide culturally appropriate care. An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study generated knowledge, beliefs, and practices related to menstruation, ovulation, and family planning among Low German-speaking (LGS) Mennonite women (n = 38). There is a pervasive...

OBJECTIVE The study attempts to examine the relationship between nurses' religious beliefs and how nurses communicate with patients. METHOD An online census survey was administered to graduate students in the School of Nursing at a Midwestern university. The survey was designed to measure: relational control, as measured by the subscales of dominance and task orientation in Burgoon and Hale's...