What is it about?
This study explores how patients with long hospital stays understand spirituality and what they expect from spiritual care. It shows that spirituality goes beyond religion and includes emotional support, meaning, and feeling understood. Patients emphasized the need for more holistic care that addresses both medical and spiritual needs.
Featured Image
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Our findings show that patients’ needs during long hospital stays extend beyond medical treatment. Recognizing and addressing spiritual needs can improve how patients cope with illness and feel supported. This study provides practical insights for integrating spiritual care into everyday healthcare.
Perspectives
Working on this study deepened my understanding of how often patients’ spiritual needs remain unspoken in clinical settings. Listening to patients’ experiences was a powerful reminder that care is not only about treating illness, but also about recognizing the person behind it. I hope this work encourages healthcare professionals to pay closer attention to these often-overlooked aspects of care and to approach patients in a more holistic and compassionate way.
Rahime Aydın Er
Kocaeli Universitesi
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Patients’ perception and needs of spiritual care: A qualitative study in the context of prolonged hospitalizations, PLOS One, April 2026, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0347552.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Article
The article providing detailed findings on patients’ perceptions of spirituality and their spiritual care needs during prolonged hospitalizations.
Article
The article providing detailed findings on patients’ perceptions of spirituality and their spiritual care needs during prolonged hospitalizations.
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
