Abstract
Spiritual care is an increasingly important component of end of life care. As it emerges in Israel, it is intentionally built on a nonclerical model. Based on interviews with spiritual care providers in Israel, we find that they help patients and families talk about death and say goodbyes. They encourage the wrapping up of unfinished business, offer diverse cultural resources that can provide meaning, and use presence and touch to produce connection. As spiritual care emerges in Israel, providers are working with patients at the end of life in ways they see as quite distinct from rabbis. They offer broad frames of meaning to which patients from a range of religious traditions can connect.
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Notes
http://livuiruchani.org.il accesses July 22 2016.
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This study was funded by the Bronfman Brandeis Israel Collaborative Research Program.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Pagis, M., Tal, O. & Cadge, W. What do Non-clergy Spiritual Care Providers Contribute to End of Life Care in Israel? A Qualitative Study. J Relig Health 56, 614–622 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0349-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0349-x