“Spirituality is a dimension of humanness that is unquantifiable

“Spirituality is a dimension of humanness that is unquantifiable, mysterious and individual”.(Swinton,2004). Spirituality for some people may mean connecting with themselves or connecting with a higher power, be it religious or not. It is important that us as healthcare professionals try and understand and respect each individuals meaning of spirituality and help them in using it to have a positive impact on their palliative care. People have many different meanings of the word spirituality and its impacts on the care will be unique for each individual. (HSE,2014).
Spirituality has an impact on patient’s medical decision making, especially in palliative care. ( Puchalski, C.M et al, 2013). A study by Slivstri showed that patients with lung cancer ranked faith in god their second priority when making treatment decisions.( Slivstri, G.A et al, 2003). A more recent study in . Both these studies show the importance of spirituality in peoples lives and on their care.