A Solution: The Compassionate Spiritual Comfort Integration (CSCI) Program
The Compassionate Spiritual Comfort Integration (CSCI) Program is a brief, 60-minute nurse-focused quality improvement initiative designed to help hospice nurses provide more effective spiritual care. It draws from two research-based frameworks and guiding principles especially useful for addressing existential distress and supporting meaning-making at the end of life. The program aims to boost nurses' confidence and skills in delivering spiritual support to patients and their families. The CSCI Program is a concise, 60-minute training created to help home hospice nurses feel more confident and capable in providing spiritual care. It combines two research-based frameworks:
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Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory
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Kolcaba’s theory identifies three types of comfort:
relief, ease, and transcendence
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—as essential outcomes of nursing care (Kolcaba, 2003). In hospice, this means helping patients find peace not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually. The CSCI Program emphasizes spiritual comfort as part of whole-person care, aligning with the goals of hospice care.
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Thupten Jinpa’s Compassion Framework
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Jinpa, a Buddhist scholar and researcher of compassion, defines compassion as a conscious intention to alleviate suffering through emotional presence and understanding (Jinpa, 2015). His framework encourages nurses to:
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Pause and be fully present
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Acknowledge emotional pain without judgment
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Act with a genuine desire to relieve suffering
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Spiritual Assessment: using the FICA tool to explore patients’ beliefs, values, and needs​
“Compassionate care isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about being willing to sit with another person’s suffering and offer genuine presence.”
- Thupten Jinpa