Background: Family caregivers experience spiritual and existential concerns while caring for their terminally ill family members.
Aim: To evaluate and synthesise studies on spirituality among family caregivers in palliative care.
Design: An integrative literature review of peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2016.
Sample: Participants were family caregivers (parents, spouses, relatives or friends) caring for an adult (age>18 years) family member with a terminal illness in a palliative care setting.
Results: Data from 26 published research papers were systematically analysed. Five themes were identified regarding spirituality and family caregiving: a close and meaningful connection, spirituality as a way of coping, spiritual needs and expressions among family caregivers, spirituality to transcend fears, and spirituality in family caregivers' decision-making.
Implications for practice: Nurses are encouraged to explore the spirituality and spiritual experiences of family caregivers to support their spiritual wellbeing while caring for their terminally ill family members.
Keywords: Experiences; Family caregivers; Palliaitve care; Spirituality; Terminal illness.