Opening a hermeneutic space for spiritual care practices

Abstract

Spiritual care is considered an intrinsic aspect of good palliative care practices. However, this is a challenge for health professionals. There is a lack of scientifically based non-religious approaches to identify and meet patients’ and families’ existential/spiritual needs. This article aims to present a tool for spiritual care named Diamond Model, or Ars Moriendi, developed by a Dutch researcher who designed it from elements drawn from his empirical research. The model is theoretically based on non-moral and non-religious anthropological frameworks, and it is open to people from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds. Both chaplains and the multidisciplinary teams can use this hermeneutic tool. It helps to better understand and meet the spiritual needs of patients and families in the dimensions that involve autonomy, suffering, relations, unfinished business, and hope. The presentation of the Diamond Model to the Brazilian audience is also an invitation to test and evaluate it in future studies investigating spirituality in palliative care in Brazil.