Assessment of older people 6 : assessing the spiritual domain

The multidisciplinary and holistic assessment of older people allows health professionals to gain insight into their individual needs. The spiritual domain is one of five key domains that need to be explored when assessing older people. All humans are spiritual beings with spiritual needs, whether or not they are religious or belong to a church. Older people going through illness or faced with the proximity of death are particularly at risk of a spiritual crisis. All older people cared for by health and social care services should have the opportunity to access spiritual support. This last article in a six-part series explores how to address the spiritual care needs of older people