Objective: To examine how spiritual care is perceived in an Africancontext by recording the lived experiences of palliative care workers atHospice Africa Uganda (HAU). Methods: Fifteen palliative care workerswith experience in providing spiritual care were interviewed and theirresponses were thematically analyzed. Results: The participants rarelysaw a distinction between religion and spirituality. Although many werecomfortable dealing with religious issues emanating from the majorreligious traditions, including those different from their own, they wereless comfortable in handling issues arising from native Ugandantraditions and culture. Beliefs such as witchcraft and cursing in particularwere considered harmful and not spiritual, and several participantsreported feeling uncomfortable when providing spiritual care to patientswith these beliefs. The interviewees also cited difficulties such as the lackof time, resources, and available religious leaders in the community, aswell as language barriers. Conclusion: Although the palliative careworkers at HAU have views on spirituality and spiritual care that havemuch in common with the palliative care literature from North Americaand Europe, they also face more specific challenges. These includeproviding spiritual care in a resource-poor setting to patientsundergoing severe economic hardship, and providing spiritual care tothose with traditional African religious beliefs.Key words: Uganda l Spirituality l Palliative care l Hospice care
