ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Pain
This article is part of the Research TopicNon-biomedical Perspectives on Pain and its Prevention and Management – Volume IIView all 8 articles
Developing a best practice guide for integrating spiritual care interventions in chronic pain therapy: A qualitative Delphi study
Provisionally accepted
- 1UniversitatsSpital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- 2Universitat Zurich Theologische Fakultat, Zürich, Switzerland
- 3Triaplus AG Klinik Zugersee Zentrum fur Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Oberwil bei Zug, Switzerland
- 4Departement für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik, Psychiatrische Universitatsklinik Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- 5Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care, Universitat Zurich Medizinische Fakultat, Zürich, Switzerland
- 6Centre of Clinical Nursing, UniversitatsSpital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
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Abstract Chronic pain patients (CPPs) often face complex, multifactorial challenges, with many reporting that their pain management lacks comprehensiveness. Spiritual care has emerged as a potential resource in addressing the diverse needs of CPPs, but remains underutilized due to healthcare professionals' (HCPs) uncertainty about how to integrate it into clinical practice. This study aimed to develop a best practice guide for integrating spiritual care into chronic pain therapy using a qualitative Delphi study. Three rounds of data collection, involving a panel of CPPs and HCPs with expertise in chronic pain from various disciplines, were conducted. Participants shared their experiences and suggestions for addressing spiritual aspects in pain therapy. The process led to the formulation of a consensus-based best practice guide, outlining practical strategies for HCPs to engage with spiritual care in a way that is respectful and sensitive to individual patient needs. Results indicated that incorporating spiritual care in chronic pain therapy can enhance therapeutic relationships, foster more meaningful patient interactions, and provide additional coping mechanisms. The guide was rated as clinically applicable, and offers a structured yet flexible framework for integrating spiritual care into multimodal pain treatment and is expected to improve patient outcomes by addressing existential aspects of chronic pain. Perspective This article presents a systematic Delphi study used to obtain experts' opinions and to generate an interprofessional consensus on integrating spiritual aspects in multimodal pain therapy, resulting in a best practice guide. This guide supports clinicians to integrate spiritual care into routine care to patients with chronic painThis guide supports clinicians in integrating spiritual care into routine care for patients with chronic pain.
Keywords: Chronic Pain, Best practice guide, health professionals, Delphi study, Spiritual care, Chronic pain patients
Received: 09 Aug 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Perrin, Hasenfratz, Peng-Keller, Rufer and Naef. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joël Perrin, joel.perrin@uzh.ch
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