Spirituality was experienced broadly as an important dimension of how participants lived with terminal illness. Religious and non-religious characteristics were recognised which reveals the complex nature of the phenomenon. Faith was a significant part of the participants' spirituality indicating the importance of attending to this aspect of palliative care. The study suggests the potential contributions of theological approaches which are relevant for palliative care research and practice.
Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life (QoL). This study examined the feasibility of the Icelandic version of a provisional European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) measure of spiritual well-being (SWB), and explored the relationship between SWB and QoL for palliative care patients in Iceland. Instruments from the EORTC were used: the provisional measure of SWB, which was undergoing pilot-testing in Iceland, and the EORTC QLQ C15-PAL. The correlation between scores was examined and descriptive statistics were used. Structured interviews explored feasibility. Thirty persons participated with average age 72 years. Belief in God or a higher power had the mean 3.33 on a 1-4 scale and the mean for overall SWB was 5.73 on a 1-7 scale. The mean score for global health/QoL was 59.4, physical functioning 48.5 and emotional functioning 78.9 on a 0-100 scale. Overall QoL was positively correlated with SWB showing r(30) = 0.386, P = 0.035. The participants found that answering the provisional EORTC QLQ-SWB prompted an emotional response and took the opportunity to discuss the subject. The provisional SWB measure was found relevant for the Icelandic context, and the study indicates that SWB and QoL are closely connected.
This article reports the first stage of a national programme instigated by the Healthcare Chaplaincy Training and Development Unit of NHS Education for Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government. In the first stage Chaplains were invited to join an action research project with the purpose of designing listening services in GP surgeries. Some of the chaplains were already offering listening services. Chaplains and researchers worked together to co – create and design a spiritual listening intervention based on prior experience and research evidence which was then introduced into four Health Boards in Scotland. Qualitative data about the intervention was then gathered by the researchers from chaplains, patients and referrers, usually GPs. This data shows that the intervention, in its first incarnation, was well received. The findings are reported and the next two phases outlined.
Healthcare chaplaincy is going through a period of considerable challenge amidst current financial austerity within public sector provision. However, such cutbacks have sharpened the need for chaplains not only to show that their practice enhances the wellbeing of service users, their carers, staff and organisations but that their contribution is unique and value for the tax payers' money. This article seeks to enable readers to understand more fully the different roles healthcare chaplain play as an increasingly integrated aspect of healthcare provision. It also describes the need for chaplains to be proficient in the language of healthcare culture as well as pastoral theology and why reflective practice is key to person-centred spiritual care.
An online survey was conducted by twelve professional chaplain organizations to assess chaplains' attitudes about and involvement in research. A total of 2,092 chaplains from 23 countries responded to the survey. Over 80% thought research was definitely important and nearly 70% thought chaplains should definitely be research literate. Just over 40% said they regularly read research articles and almost 60% said they occasionally did. The respondents rated their own research literacy as 6.5 on a 0-10 scale. Significant positive inter-correlations were found among all four measures: importance of (a) research and (b) research literacy; (c) frequency of reading articles; and (d) research literacy rating. Approximately 35% were never involved, 37% had been involved, 17% were currently involved, and 11% expected to be involved in research. The last three groups were significantly more likely to think research and research literacy were important and to read research articles than chaplains who were never involved in research. Given chaplains' interest in research, actions should be undertaken to facilitate further research engagement.
This study explores existential and spiritual concerns from the perspective of people receiving palliative care. It examines the meaning of these concerns, their influence on people's lives and investigates the connections between them. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with ten persons. Findings reveal existential and spiritual aspects as interconnected and an integral part of the participants' everyday existence. It concludes with a call for a better understanding of these phenomena in the palliative care context.
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