Advancing Spiritual Care Through Research

Understanding the Spiritual and Religious Needs of Young People with Cancer and Their Families to Enhance Holistic Care

Spiritual needs were clustered under the following headings: protection vs autonomy; desire to make a difference; personal issues including loss, privacy, finding a new normal; relationships and attitude including the need to be listened to and opportuniites for empowerment and consent where they could have control; environment including a need for conducive physical and emotional space and a focus on building community; difficult emotions and resilience; need for supportive presence; cultural differences. Religious needs were ritual; hope; questioning and doubt; worldview; language; balance between parent and patient’s needs. Inverted transition was noted as an issue to explore further.

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