[Spiritual needs and palliative care: assessment of a new care package].

The approach taken in our palliative care document regarding spiritual needs is under three headings: 1) illness in the personal and sociocultural dimension 2) communication and self-esteem 3) spirituality: religions, philosophical or other beliefs, with twenty-eight items, including several sub-items. This approach has been used in sixty-four cases. In the first quatitative analysis, we determined which were the most utilized items, that is: the stages of bereavement, the patient's awareness of his/her illness, the observation of the means of communication he or she uses, and his/her mental state.