Intervenciones en salud en pacientes con enfermedad crónica en final de vida para favorecer el bienestar espiritual: Estudio Integrativo de Revisión de la Literatura

In recent years, special attention has been placed on spirituality by disciplines dedicated - both in research and actual care - to the well being of people. This stems from a recognition of spirituality as an essential part of human nature, and the need to address it like any other dimension, such as the physical, emotional and social spheres. The aim of this study is to describe interventions by healthcare personnel that promote the spiritual well-being of patients with chronic disease at the end of their life. Methods: A secondary, integrative review of the literature was performed, following the PRISMA methodology and the considerations by Whittemore and Knafl on integrative literatura review phases. The literature search comprised years 2010 to 2020 in scientific databases. Results: We found descriptive, quantitative cross-sectional studies and systematic reviews, but few randomized controlled clinical trials. The most commonly used interventions were Dignity Therapy and Life Review, focusing on patients with oncologic disorders in the outpatient and in-hospital contexts; most of the works described a positive effect on the short term and were perfomed by a multidisciplinary team. Conclusion: the benefits of spiritual interventions are well described, and they go beyond the spirirtual to influence the physical, psychological and social well-being of patients and improve quality of life. It remains necessary to keep researching, with controlled clinical trials,so that we can inform the intensity of the effect, the duration over time and include the transpersonal dimension.