Spirituality in Palliative Care

Spiritual care is an essential domain of palliative care and it has been included in the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of palliative care for almost 15 years. Even though its influence on quality of life is widely recognized, spiritual care has been the most neglected component of palliative care for a long time. However, in recent years, initiatives, including progress at national levels, have been established to promote the integration of this dimension of palliative care in research and clinical care. Growing evidence supports the importance of spiritual care at the end of life and its positive effects on patients’ quality of life have been reported across age groups and patient groups/medical conditions. In recognition of the important field, BMC Palliative Care has launched this Collection which encourage submissions including but not limited to those addressing: Assessment of spiritual needs in life threatening illnesses/end of life; Assessment of spiritual distress in threatening illnesses/end of life; Relationship between spiritual support and the other components of palliative and end of life care; Effectiveness of spiritual care in palliative care; Spiritual support to palliative care patients and to those around them; Interventions to implement the integration of spiritual care in palliative care; Person spiritual awareness and its influence on clinical practice