Principles in building spiritual assessment tools.

Fivebasicprinciplesshouldbeconsideredwhen creatinga spiritual assessment tool to beusedby amultidisciplinaryhospiceteam.Beforediscussing them,however,it is importantto addressthe relationshipbetween spiritual issuesand religious/nonreligious beliefs. The assessment processgetsbadlymuddledwhenthis relationshipis not clear. Somehospiceteammembershave been known to function as though spiritualandreligiousrealitiesweresynonymous.Accordingly, somenonreligiousmembersincludethe concept of a spiritualdimensionto life in their rejectionof religion. Otherswho are religiousrejectthe possibilityof non-