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Original research
Spiritual conversation model for patients and loved ones in palliative care: a validation study
  1. Marc Haufe1,
  2. Carlo Leget1,
  3. Tina Glasner2,
  4. Saskia Teunissen3 and
  5. Marieke Potma1
  1. 1Department of Care Ethics, University for Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  2. 2Department of Research Methodology, University for Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  3. 3Center of Expertise Palliative Care Utrecht, Julius Center for Healthcare Sciences and Primary Care, Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  1. Correspondence to Marc Haufe, Department of Care Ethics, University for Humanistic Studies, 3512 HD Utrecht, The Netherlands; M.Haufe{at}uvh.nl

Abstract

Objectives In palliative care, validated tools for professionals that facilitate day-to-day spiritual conversations with patients and loved ones are scarce. The objective of this study was to validate the Diamond spiritual conversation model across different palliative care settings as well as professional and educational levels.

Methods An online survey was filled in by 387 professionals providing palliative care for patients in hospice, home care, hospital and nursing home settings. The five polarities of the Diamond model: holding on–letting go, doing–undergoing, remembering–forgetting, me–the other and believing–knowing were operationalised and evaluated on reported occurrence.

Results In conversations with patients, palliative care professionals reported letting go of loved ones (81.8%), dealing with pain and suffering (88.1%), dealing with issues from the past (67.2%), dealing with own versus loved one’s wishes (69.4%) and giving meaning to death (66.7%) as themes occurring regularly to very often. In conversations with loved ones, this was 70.8%, 78.5%, 55.4%, 68,8% and 62%, respectively. Respondents working in hospices reported these themes significantly more than those working in home care settings, nursing homes or hospitals. Nurse assistant respondents reported the themes significantly less than nurses or chaplains.

Conclusion From the perspective of professionals providing palliative care in different palliative care settings, the Diamond model offers a validated framework for addressing relevant spiritual themes for patients and loved ones.

  • End of life care
  • Spiritual care
  • Communication

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Data sharing application for use of the survey data can be made for up to 10 years, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis on receipt of a methodological sound proposal to achieve aims of a non-commercial nature. All requests for data access should be addressed to the Chief Investigator via C.Leget@uvh.nl and will be reviewed by him and the data intelligence group of the University for Humanistic Studies.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2022-003569

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Data sharing application for use of the survey data can be made for up to 10 years, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis on receipt of a methodological sound proposal to achieve aims of a non-commercial nature. All requests for data access should be addressed to the Chief Investigator via C.Leget@uvh.nl and will be reviewed by him and the data intelligence group of the University for Humanistic Studies.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors CL is the grant holder and ST is a co-applicant for funding. MH, with critical input from CL, ST, TG and MP, structured the design and was the main liaison with the seven regional palliative care networks. MH and MP coordinated the data collection. MH, TG and ST analysed the data. All authors contributed to the interpretation of data and provided critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. CL is the guarantor. All authors approved this version to be published.

    • Funding The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW) (grant number: 84400150, 2017).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.