Death and Dying: Respecting the Patient’s Spiritual and Cultural Beliefs

Case Study: Through the Eyes of the Patient and the Health Care Professional
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Case Study: Through the Eyes of the Patient and the Health Care Professional
Taking care of Abby, who has dementia and is at the end of life, requires the healthcare professional to be attuned to their own cultural and spiritual beliefs. Abby’s spirituality and cultural beliefs should be respected even if they are different from the healthcare professional’s beliefs. Healthcare professionals play an instrumental role in supporting dying patients. They not only take care of issues related to the patient’s physical symptoms but also those related to the patient’s emotional, social, and spiritual needs as well as support to the patient’s family and caregivers. According to Matzo and Sherman (2019), healthcare professionals should be in tune with their own cultural and spiritual beliefs so that they can support patients through the dying process. This enables them to not only assess the patient’s spirituality and beliefs in death and dying but also to respect the patient’s spiritual and cultural beliefs.
Abby’s Case
The case of Abby shows that in the last few weeks of her life, the family struggled with her imminent death and disagreed on how to approach her care (Gelfand et al., 2005). As a healthcare professional, facilitating effective communication with the family and other patients’ interdisciplinary care team members, such as healthcare professionals and spiritual leaders, is essential. In addition, the healthcare professional needs to discuss the available treatment options, educate the family, discuss family roles and spiritual beliefs, and look into the barriers that may hinder quality patient care. Healthcare professionals also need to be equipped with appropriate cultural responses to ensure they remain respectful of the patient’s cultural and spiritual beliefs. Below are some of the factors that healthcare professionals need to consider when handling Abby’s situation and care:
Communication
Communication plays an instrumental role in end-of-life situations as they involve discussions about prognosis, treatment options, goals, and advanced directives or wishes in end-of-life (Pfeifer & Head, 2018). As such, healthcare professionals need to communicate effectively. The strategies that healthcare professionals apply to effectively communicate with the patient and her family create a big difference in how the patient and the family respond. Already, Abby’s family does not seem to agree on the best course of action as she nears her death. Communication strategies that can be applied to ease the tension include active listening, observing moments of silence, and showing empathy while communicating (Pfeifer & Head, 2018). These strategies will help the patient and her family understand the situation, ask questions, and get sensitive responses to their situation and their culture.
Treatments Options
Abby had reached a stage where she was unresponsive and could not feed (Gelfand et al., 2005). Her treatment options include continuing with life-supporting interventions such as receiving oxygen and IV feeding or hospice care. Hospice care aligns with Abby’s culture because she needs to transition into the spirit world peacefully and naturally (Gelfand et al., 2005). Hospice provides the comfort she needs and can be offered in the setting that will give her the most comfort.
Education
Patient education is an important part of communication (Matzo & Sherman, 2019). It is important to educate both the patient and the family about the condition, prognosis, and the next step in the patient’s care. Abby and her family need to be provided with materials with information about the condition. They can be given sessions where they learn and ask questions. They should also be given time in between education sessions to process the information.
Family Roles
Family members are involved in caregiving and decision-making about the patient’s care. Abby’s daughter was her primary caregiver, although she had other children who were involved in the decision-making process. Healthcare professionals have a role to play in the clarification of family roles in caregiving. According to Matzo and Sherman (2019), healthcare professionals can help in roles clarification through patient and family assessmen...