'Spiritual care is not the hospital's business': a qualitative study on the perspectives of patients about the integration of spirituality in healthcare settings.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have investigated the relationship between spirituality and health. They claim the need to develop spiritual care to answer patients' spiritual suffering and to promote spiritual well-being. However, the present study critically analyses the following idea: we ought to take care of the spiritual dimension of patients. Does this interest for spirituality not come from healthcare professionals' desire more than from the patients themselves?

OBJECTIVE: To answer this question, we explored the perspectives of individuals with cancer regarding the integration of spirituality in the healthcare setting.

DESIGN: Qualitative design using semistructured interviews to focus on subjective experience.

SETTING: One of the major public hospitals of Paris, France.

PARTICIPANTS: 20 participants (n=11 men and n=9 women) with advanced cancer (stage IV). Age ranges from 37 to 80 years with a mean age of 58.7 years.

RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that participants do not expect help from the hospital to handle spiritual issues but they wish for their spiritual dimension to be simply recognised as a part of their identity and dignity.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings invite us to view the question of spirituality not as a new dimension of care but as a new challenge for healthcare institutions to recognise that the persons they are working for are not just 'patients' but human beings with a precious interior life.