Spirituality in social work : the views of home caregivers of terminally ill patients

Abstract

When faced with the news that a family member has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, many carers worry about what they should say and do. Carers use various methods to cope with the illness and continue caring for the ill person. One of these coping mechanisms is by clinging to spiritual beliefs. Research has shown that surviving family members who had spiritual beliefs and thought that the illness and death of their loved one was connected to God's divine plan or to a higher power, coped better than those who could not find any meaning in the illness and death of their loved one (Lindemann, 1995). Social workers who work effectively with terminally ill people and their home caregivers may be the ones who best understand the multifaceted nature of the dying process and its impact on the patient and his/her home caregivers. Much research has focused on terminally ill persons and their needs and not many studies have been carried out with carers. I believe that home caregivers of terminally ill patients need help and support as much as the patient him/herself. Consequently, for this study I have chosen to focus on carers. I interviewed six bereaved home caregivers of terminally ill patients. I explored whether they considered spirituality a help or hindrance in coping with the illness of the person they care for. The study also investigates the caregivers' perception of the social worker's role in offering spiritual support. This study concludes that home caregivers of terminally ill patients pass through very difficult times while carrying out their role of carers. The carers wished to have someone to help, listen and understand them on the road they were traveling. In the social worker they found 'someone' to listen, understand and deal with their spiritual needs, without the fear that they will be laughed at or ignored. Thus, this study suggests that it is the role of the social worker to be sensitive to, acknowledge, assess and deal with the spiritual needs of carers of persons who are terminally ill.