THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY IN PALLIATIVE CARE: AN INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of people with serious illnesses and their families by preventing and relieving physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering. This study aimed to examine the role of spirituality in supporting patients receiving palliative care and their families. An integrative review was structured using the PICo framework. PubMed, SciELO, LILACS and BDENF were searched using terms related to spirituality and palliative care. Studies available in full and published in Portuguese, English or Spanish between January 2020 and May 2026 were considered. Selection was presented in a flow diagram based on PRISMA 2020. The reported sample includes 11 publications with different study designs. The findings suggest that spiritual support may promote comfort, coping with illness and communication between patients, families and professionals. Challenges related to professional training, service organization and the identification of spiritual needs were also described. Spiritual care may contribute to comprehensive and humane care when autonomy, individual preferences and freedom of belief are respected. The heterogeneity of the publications limits the generalizability of the findings.