# Spiritual care in the dementia ward during a pandemic

## TL;DR

This paper explores how spiritual care can support dementia patients during the pandemic, focusing on spiritual reminiscence and its ethical implications.

## Contribution

The paper introduces spiritual reminiscence as a novel approach to nurturing spirituality in dementia care during crises.

## Key findings

- Spiritual care is essential for dementia patients during pandemics to address existential suffering.
- Spiritual reminiscence, inspired by MacKinlay and Dewitte, offers a practical method for spiritual support.
- The pandemic highlighted the need to adapt spiritual care practices in dementia wards.

## Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and the repeated lockdowns have caused substantial spiritual and existential suffering, not the least for persons with dementia who may have had more difficulties than others in grasping the reality of what was going on. Therefore, it is important to address spirituality within this sector of the population when considering global health and ethics and technology in a pandemic outbreak. This contribution starts firstly with a definition of spirituality and spiritual care. Secondly, based on the works of Elizabeth MacKinlay and Laura Dewitte, the article demonstrates how spirituality can be nurtured in the dementia ward through “spiritual reminiscence.” Finally, I briefly reflect on how spiritual care in the dementia ward was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.