Palliative-care professionals' experiences of unusual spiritual phenomena at the end of life

Research literature has highlighted unusual phenomena occurring at the end of life. Palliative-care professionals often feel ill-prepared in managing these and in talking to patients and family members about them. This study aimed to explore the meanings and interpretations ascribed to these phenome...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mental health, religion & culture
Authors: McDonald, Claire (Author) ; Murray, Craig (Author) ; Atkin, Heather (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2014
In: Mental health, religion & culture
Further subjects:B end of life
B Professionals
B Spiritual
B Palliative Care
B phenomena
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Research literature has highlighted unusual phenomena occurring at the end of life. Palliative-care professionals often feel ill-prepared in managing these and in talking to patients and family members about them. This study aimed to explore the meanings and interpretations ascribed to these phenomena by palliative-care professionals. Eight participants were interviewed, and interpretative phenomenological analysis used to identify themes within their accounts. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Who are we to say what's out there?: a connection with something beyond what can be seen; (2) It opened up conversations: the experience of talking about unusual experiences; (3) It knocked me sideways: managing the emotional impact of these experiences; and (4) The fact that she was so accepting made it easier: the value of acceptance in relation to unusual experiences. These findings are discussed within the context of existing literature and implications for palliative-care professionals are discussed.
ISSN:1469-9737
Contains:Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2013.849668