Based on information gathered from the internationally used Spiritual Needs Questionnaire, this book offers analyses of the spiritual and existential needs among different groups of people such as the chronically ill, elderly, adolescents, mothers of sick children, refugees, patients' relatives, and others. The theoretical background, specific empirical findings and the relevance of addressing spiritual needs is discussed by experts from different professions and cultural contexts. Supporting a person's spiritual needs remains an important task of future healthcare systems that wish to more comprehensively care for the healthcare needs of patients, and of religious communities to ensure that spiritual concerns of all persons, independent of their religious orientations, are met in and outside healthcare settings.  

Arndt Büssing is a medical doctor and professor for quality of life, spirituality, and coping at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany.

1. Introduction.- Part I Different Perspectives on Spiritual Needs.- 2. The Religious Under-Determination of Spiritual Needs from a Theological Perspective and Their Implications for Health and Social Care.- 3. Spiritual Care in Health Care: Guideline, Models, Spiritual Assessment and the Use of the ©FICA Spiritual History Tool.- 4. Using the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire: A Perspective from the Ethics of Care.- Part II Assessment of Spiritual Needs.- 5. Assessing Patients' Spiritual Needs in Healthcare: An Overview of Questionnaires.- 6. Application and Implementation of the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire in Spiritual Care Processes.- 7. Structure of the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire in Patients with Chronic Diseases, Elderly and Healthy Persons and Their Association with Quality of Life Indicators.- 8. Adapted Spiritual Needs Questionnaire for Adolescents with Chronic Diseases.- 9. Structures of Spiritual Needs Questionnaire Versions in Countries with Different Cultural and Religious Background.- Part III Findings in Different Populations: Persons with Chronic Diseases.- 10. Spiritual Needs of Patients with Chronic Pain Diseases.- 11. Spiritual Needs of Non-terminally Ill Cancer Patients from Lithuania.- 12. Spiritual Needs of Cancer Patients in Iran.- 13. Development of Spiritual Needs during Chemotherapy of Breast Cancer Patients.- 14. Psychosocial, Existential and Spiritual Needs of Persons with Cystic Fibrosis.- 15. Spiritual Needs of HIV-Infected Persons from Brazil.- 16. Spiritual Needs in People with Mild to Moderate Dementia.- 17. Spiritual Needs in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.- 18. Spiritual Needs of Tumor Patients During Their Stay at a Palliative Care Unit.- Part IV Findings in Different Populations: Persons with Special Needs in Difficult Situations.- 19. Spiritual Needs of Patients in the Emergency Room.- 20. Spiritual Needs of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder.- 21. Spiritual Needs of Persons with Down Syndrome.- 22. Spiritual Needs of Adolescents with Chronic Diseases.- 23. Spiritual Needs in Postwar Population Posttrauma Patients in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.- 24. Spiritual Needs and Life Satisfaction of Refugees in Bavaria.- Part V Findings in Different Populations: Healthy Populations.- 25. Spiritual Needs of Parents with Health-Affected Children.- 26. Spiritual Needs of Elderly.- 27. Spiritual Needs of Patients' Relatives.- Part VI Relevance of Addressing Spiritual Needs for Clinical Support.- 28. Spiritual Needs, Hopes and Resources A Chaplains Mantra.- 29. Relevance of Addressing Spiritual Needs for Clinical Support: Nursing Perspective.- 30. Addressing Spiritual Needs in Faith Community Nursing.- 31. Physicians Perspectives on Addressing Patients' Spiritual Needs.- 32. Relevance of Addressing Spiritual Needs for Clinical Support in Palliative Medicine.- 33. Addressing Spiritual Needs and Spiritual Care from a Volunteers' Perspectives.- 34. Concluding Suggestions.