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Caring for Hindu patients at the end-of-life: A narrative review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2024

Brinda Raval Raniga Open the ORCID record for Brinda Raval Raniga [Opens in a new window] ,
Savannah Kumar Open the ORCID record for Savannah Kumar [Opens in a new window] ,
Rebecca McAteer Martin  and
Craig D. Blinderman Open the ORCID record for Craig D. Blinderman [Opens in a new window]
Brinda Raval Raniga*
Affiliation:
Neurology Residency, Mount Sinai Beth Israel-West, New York, NY, USA
Savannah Kumar
Affiliation:
Ophthalmology Residency, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY, USA
Rebecca McAteer Martin
Affiliation:
Adult Palliative Medicine Service, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, USA
Craig D. Blinderman
Affiliation:
Supportive Care Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
*
Corresponding author: Brinda Raval Raniga; Email: brinda.raval@mountsinai.org
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Abstract

Objectives

This paper reviews the existing literature to identify specific challenges that may arise in the context of providing palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care for Hindu patients in the physical, psychological, and spiritual domains. We offer practical strategies where appropriate to mitigate some of these challenges. We review how the Hindu faith impacts EOL decision-making, including the role of the family in decision-making, completion of advance directives, pain management, and decisions around artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Methods

The PubMed, MEDLINE Complete, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched for articles using the search strings combinations of keywords such as Palliative care, Hindu, Hinduism, End of Life Care, India, Spirituality, and South Asian. Once inclusion criteria were applied, 40 manuscripts were eligible for review.

Results

Our results are organized into the following 4 sections – how Hindu religious or spiritual beliefs intersect with the physical, psychological, and spiritual domains: and decision-making at the EOL.

Significance of results

Hindu beliefs, in particular the role of karma, were shown to impact decision-making regarding pain management, ANH and CPR, and advance directive completion. The complexity of Hindu thought leaves a significant role for interpretation and flexibility for individual factors in decision-making at the EOL.

Keywords

Palliative careend-of-life carehinduism
Type
Review Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 22 , Issue 5 , October 2024 , pp. 1440 - 1448
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.

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