Palliative Care Education for Spiritual Care Providers and Faith Leaders: A Global Integrative Review

Background Spiritual care is a core component of palliative care (PC), yet the education and training of spiritual care practitioners and faith leaders (SCP) remain inconsistently described. This integrative review mapped global PC education for SCP, examining educational content, delivery models, evaluation strategies, and gaps relevant to practice and policy. Methods An integrative review was conducted using comprehensive searches across medical, psychosocial, and regional databases from inception to May 21, 2024. Studies describing PC education involving SCP were included for review. A structured data extraction form was utilized and reported as per PRISMA-ScR. Outcomes were categorized using descriptive data, qualitative summaries and the Kirkpatrick evaluation framework. Results From 40 388 articles, 138 (9.4%) met inclusion criteria for SCP PC education. Most studies focused on interprofessional continuing education, rather than SCP-specific training programs. SCP education programs emphasized spiritual care and communication competencies, while core clinical domains were only addressed in interprofessional programs. Content related predominantly to adult patients. SCP-focused studies did not address pediatric subject matter. Few studies reported the religious affiliations of the participants. When religious affiliation was reported, most participants were of the Christian faith. Evaluations focused on attitudes and knowledge, with minimal assessment of behavior change or patient/system-level outcomes. Few studies (13.8%) incorporated education theory in their design or evaluation. Conclusions PC education for SCP is expanding but remains variable and clinically narrow. Strengthening clinically integrated, theory-informed curricula, broadening faith representation, improving evaluation rigor and addressing pediatric and non-cancer contexts is needed to prepare SCP for interdisciplinary PC practice.