Creating a spiritual care model that supports Muslim patients’ end‑of‑life needs in religion, spirituality, and mental and emotional wellbeing, giving nurses and medical practitioners clear guidance on how to communicate with and care for their patients.
Why is the research needed?
What was lacking in hospices was an accessible, practical framework their nurses and administrators could use to respond to their patients’ spiritual needs. Specifically, patients comprised of Muslims who required assistance in performing rituals whilst ill or before death, guidance in matters of belief and scripture and connecting with the wider Muslim community and mosques to locate family members.
What are we doing?
We will create a spiritual care model for Muslim patients at the end of life that guides nurses and medical practitioners in addressing religious, spiritual, mental and emotional needs. We will train nurses and medical practitioners on Islamic perspectives of end‑of‑life issues, equip staff with knowledge of Muslim patients’ needs at the time of death, and produce practical resources for hospices in Essex to support culturally and spiritually appropriate care. In addition, we will deliver workshops, presentations and training sessions across hospices, universities, NHS networks and faith‑based organisations to embed the model in practice.
How are we working with communities, services and organisations?
We are working with communities, services and organisations by delivering end‑of‑life workshops and training across hospices, NHS networks, universities and faith‑based groups, co‑creating practical resources with medical staff, and collaborating with faith leaders to strengthen culturally and spiritually appropriate care for Muslim patients.
What will the impact and benefits of this research be?
The research will improve end‑of‑life care for Muslim patients by strengthening nurses’ confidence, cultural competence and ability to provide spiritually sensitive support. Training delivered across hospices, universities, NHS networks and community organisations has already increased practitioners’ understanding of Islamic perspectives on dying, the ethical and legal issues surrounding assisted dying, and the cultural and existential needs of patients nearing death. The factsheet produced is now used in multiple hospices to guide communication with Muslim patients, and patients have reported feeling more comforted and understood at the end of life. The work has also fostered collaboration with faith leaders across Essex, helping ensure that people from different religious backgrounds can access appropriate chaplaincy support. In total, more than 150 nurses and medical practitioners have been trained, demonstrating wide reach and clear benefits for staff, patients and local services.
What do we have planned for knowledge mobilisation and implementation?
We will continue to deliver training and practical resources across hospices, NHS networks, universities and community organisations. This includes running end‑of‑life workshops like the initial session at Farleigh Hospice, producing and distributing the four‑page factsheet to support staff in communicating with Muslim patients, and responding to further invitations from the NHS East of England Palliative and End-of-Life Care Network, Little Havens Hospice, Anglia Ruskin University and the Salaam Centre. These sessions help embed the spiritual care model in practice, raise awareness of Islamic perspectives on end‑of‑life issues, and open wider discussions on suffering, assisted dying, grief, autonomy and interfaith support.
Related papers, outputs and resources
Read the resource, titled 'A Factsheet for Hospices and Hospitals'
In January 2026, a training session on how to manage equality, diversity and inclusion in Nursing and Medical degrees was held at Anglia Ruskin University. Over 40 staff members (comprising of lectures, nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals) were trained on: managing divergent views on end-of-life and assisted dying from different faiths and cultures, using ethical principles in framing sensitive medical issues and teaching the nature and dimensions of suffering to students. The response was overwhelmingly positive in up-skilling staff in medical law and ethics, existentialism and pedagogy with another session to be arranged soon.
In May 2026, Dr Imranali Panjwani will present his research on 'Crossing the Boundaries of Ethics, Spiritual & Law on the Debate on Assisted Dying: How a Spiritual Framework can be Derived from Reflecting on our Bodily Organs' at the national British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) conference, so the research will be disseminated to numerous doctors, nurses, counsellors, scholars and healthcare professionals from within the Muslim community.
Who is involved?
Principal Investigator: Dr Imranali Panjwani, Anglia Ruskin University
Get in contact
Emailed Imranali Panjwani at imranali.panjwani@aru.ac.uk.
