[DO WE HAVE MEDICAL MEASURES THAT ATTEST TO THE EFFECT OF SPIRITUAL CARE IN TIME OF ILLNESS?]

Everyone has spiritual resources that generally serve them well, and in times of struggle, part of people's suffering is spiritual. Tending to patients' "whole pain" must include their spiritual pain. Studies from Israel and worldwide found that approximately one-third of advanced cancer patients suffer spiritual distress. In addition, over half of cancer patients attach great importance to feeling hopeful, coping peacefully, and finding meaning in times of illness. Studies found a significant predictive correlation among advanced cancer patients between spiritual wellbeing and despair, desire to die, and suicidal ideation, and a longitudinal connection among patients with heart disease between survival rates and spiritual wellbeing. Spiritual care is provided in thousands of hospitals worldwide, and in limited fashion in over ten hospitals in Israel. By the nature of spiritual care, it is difficult to clinically measure its full impact on and contribution to patients and family members. Nonetheless, studies have found a correlation between a hospital's providing spiritual care, lowered mortality rates in the hospital and increased use of hospice care. Receipt of spiritual care correlated with higher quality of life at the end of life. When the staff, including the spiritual care provider, attends to patients' spirituality, studies find a substantial reduction in aggressive medical interventions at the end of life. In recent years, the Ministry of Health has further emphasized the need to develop hospital-based palliative care teams. As part of this effort, we must consider the integration of spiritual care providers as full members of that team.