Concepto de espiritualidad del equipo multidisciplinario de una unidad de cui¬dados paliativos: un estudio descriptivo

Spirituality is a fundamental need in palliative care; however, the literature reports that there are inconsistencies in the definition of the terms “spirituality” and “religiosity,” which creates confusion in how to approach these issues with the patients. The present study was exploratory, with the aim to better understand the concept of spirituality and religiosity that a multidisciplinary team has in an oncology palliative care unit. The study was not experimental, cross-sectional and descriptive, with 34 health professionals. To obtain each concept, the natural semantic networks technique was used; using two stimulus words: spirituality and religiosity. Among the results, similarities between the two concepts were found, being both defined as faith, god, belief, love, religion, hope. However, there are differences that distinguish the concept of spirituality; defined as peace, soul, tranquility, harmony, meditation, kindness, spirit, and transcendence; from the concept of religiosity; defined as church, rituals, bigotry, spirituality, commitment, prayer, rules, and priest. Concluding that the concepts are confusing to the palliative care team, however they have personal resources to identify the spiritual needs although they lack of information and formal training to address this.La espiritualidad, es una necesidad fundamental en el cuidado paliativo, sin embargo, la literatura reporta que existen inconsistencias en la definición de los términos “espiritualidad” y “religiosidad”, lo que genera confusión en su abordaje con los pacientes. El presente estudio fue exploratorio, con el objetivo de conocer la concepción de espiritualidad y religiosidad que tiene un equipo multidisciplinario en una unidad de cuidados paliativos oncológicos. El estudio fue no experimental, transversal y descriptivo; con 34 profesionales de la salud. Para la obtención del concepto se empleó la técnica de redes semánticas naturales, utilizando dos palabras estímulo: Espiritualidad y Religiosidad. Dentro de los resultados se encontraron semejanzas entre ambas palabras, al ser definidos como: fe, dios, creencia, amor, religión, esperanza, creencias. Sin embargo, se presentan diferencias en el concepto de espiritualidad; definida como paz, alma, tranquilidad, armonía, meditación, bondad, espíritu; y trascendencia; mientras que el concepto de religiosidad; fue definida como iglesia, ritos, fanatismo, espiritualidad, compromiso, oración, reglas, y sacerdote. Concluyendo que los conceptos resultan confusos para el equipo de cuidados paliativos, sin embargo, cuentan con recursos personales para identificar las necesidades espirituales aunque carecen de información y entrenamiento formal para su abordaje

The concept of spirituality in a multidisciplinary team from a palliative care unit: A descriptive study

Spirituality is a fundamental need in palliative care; however, the literature reports that there are inconsistencies in the definition of the terms “spirituality” and “religiosity,” which creates confusion in how to approach these issues with the patients. The present study was exploratory, with the aim to better understand the concept of spirituality and religiosity that a multidisciplinary team has in an oncology palliative care unit. The study was not experimental, cross-sectional and descriptive, with 34 health professionals. To obtain each concept, the natural semantic networks technique was used; using two stimulus words: spirituality and religiosity. Among the results, similarities between the two concepts were found, being both defined as faith, god, belief, love, religion, hope. However, there are differences that distinguish the concept of spirituality; defined as peace, soul, tranquility, harmony, meditation, kindness, spirit, and transcendence; from the concept of religiosity; defined as church, rituals, bigotry, spirituality, commitment, prayer, rules, and priest. Concluding that the concepts are confusing to the palliative care team, however they have personal resources to identify the spiritual needs although they lack of information and formal training to address this