Spiritual care of chronically ill patients.

In this article, the spiritual features of chronic illness are identified and elaborated. Chronic illness can bring about disorganization and disruption in the sufferer, resulting in spiritual distress. Some guidance is offered to nurses on the skills required to provide spiritual care for chronically ill patients. An example of a problem-solving approach to spiritual care is given along with comments on evaluating the effectiveness of nursing intervention. It is within nurses' personal resources to provide effective spiritual care as part of their concern for quality of care for patients.