Outcomes for Professional Health Care Chaplaincy: An International Call to Action

Handzo, George; Cobb, Mark; Holmes, Cheryl L.; Kelly, Emma; Sinclair, Shane

doi:10.1080/08854726.2014.902713

Cited by 63 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This approach also makes the assessment of outcomes challenging and may even require a change in the mindset of spiritual care professionals. 15,31 Wellfounded theories that underpin empirical insights of the practice of spiritual care professionals 32e36 and more well-developed clinical trials of spiritual interventions 23,26,28,37e40 may increase the validity and visibility of spiritual care. Here, the way in which medical research is structured and its history of evidence-based practice, such as following study protocols, randomized study designs, and informed consents procedures, should be leading.…”

Section: Empirical Evidence For Spiritual Care Interventions Should Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Fully Fledged Integration of Spiritual Care and Medical Care

Kruizinga

Scherer-Rath

Schilderman

et al. 2018

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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In this article, we aimed to set out current problems that hinder a fully fledged integration of spiritual and medical care, which address these obstacles. We discuss the following five statements: 1) spiritual care requires a clear and inclusive definition of spirituality; 2) empirical evidence for spiritual care interventions should be improved; 3) understanding patients' experiences of contingency is paramount to deliver effective spiritual care; 4) attention to spiritual needs of patients is a task for every health care practitioner; 5) courses on spirituality and spiritual care should be mandatory in the medical curriculum. Current problems might be overcome by speaking each other's language, which is crucial in interdisciplinary research and in good interdisciplinary collaboration. Using a clear and inclusive definition of spirituality and substantiating spiritual care using medical standards of evidence-based practice is a way to speak each other's language and to increase mutual understanding. Furthermore, including spirituality in the medical curriculum would raise awareness of medical practitioners for their task of attending to patients' spiritual needs and, subsequently, to better and more appropriate referral for spiritual care.

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Section: Empirical Evidence For Spiritual Care Interventions Should Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Fully Fledged Integration of Spiritual Care and Medical Care

Kruizinga

Scherer-Rath

Schilderman

et al. 2018

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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“…In addition, this publication hopes to contribute to the theory building concerning chaplaincy and an evidence-based practice of chaplaincy (Handzo et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2014, George F. Handzo and others issued a call for action to chaplains worldwide to develop an outcome-oriented approach to chaplaincy care (Handzo, Cobb, Holmes, Kelly, & Sinclair, 2014). Because attention to spiritual issues is an intrinsic part of palliative care (PC), it is no coincidence that three of the four early examples that they highlighted fell within the context of programs for developing PC.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Spiritual Care in Hospitals in the Netherlands: What Do Health Care Chaplains Involved in an Action-Research Study Report?

Geer

Visser

Zock

et al. 2017

Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy

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Health care chaplains participated in a multicenter trial to explore an implementation strategy for the Dutch multidisciplinary guideline for spiritual care. The intervention was concise spiritual care training for hospital staff of departments where patients in curative and palliative trajectories are treated. Data were collected in semistructured interviews with chaplains who acted as trainers, before and after the intervention. Results based on nine preintervention and eleven post-intervention interviews are presented. During preintervention interviews, chaplains describe the baseline situation of palliative care in Dutch hospitals, barriers, and opportunities for improving spiritual care. In the postintervention interviews, characteristics of the training, effects, and critical success factors were identified. Positive effects such as lowering barriers, increasing health care professionals' competences, and increasing health care chaplains' profile are possible. Chaplain-led, multidisciplinary spiritual care training is a feasible method to start implementation of spiritual care in hospitals, as described in the multidisciplinary guideline.

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“…Many chaplains prefer a ''conversational approach'' to spiritual assessment and have been uncomfortable with models that ''attempt to measure or quantify spirituality, religiosity, or spiritual injury.'' 13(p5) Because it is essential that chaplains develop the ability to describe the effects (outcomes) of their care, 14 models for spiritual assessment must have a quantitative component, which could be combined with narrative summaries. The Spiritual Distress Assessment Tool (SDAT), developed by Monod and colleagues, 15 demonstrates that a quantifiable approach to assessing unmet spiritual needs is possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the PC-7, a Quantifiable Assessment of Spiritual Concerns of Patients Receiving Palliative Care Near the End of Life

Fitchett

Pierson

Hoffmeyer

et al. 2020

Journal of Palliative Medicine

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Background: Attending to the religious/spiritual (R/S) concerns of patients is a core component of palliative care. A primary responsibility of the chaplain is to conduct a thorough assessment of palliative care patients' R/S needs and resources. Problems with current approaches to spiritual assessment in all clinical contexts, including palliative care, include limited evidence for their validity, reliability, or clinical usefulness; narrative content; and lack of clinical specificity. Objectives: The aim of our work was to develop an evidence-based, quantifiable model for the assessment of unmet spiritual concerns of palliative care patients near the end of life. Design: The PC-7 model was developed by a team of chaplains working in palliative care. Phase 1 used literature in the field and the chaplains' clinical practice to identify key concerns in the spiritual care of palliative care patients. Phase 2 focused on developing indicators of those concerns and reliability in the chaplains' rating of them. Results: Key concerns in the model include the following. Need for meaning in the face of suffering; need for integrity, a legacy; concerns about relationships; concern or fear about dying or death; issues related to treatment decision making; R/S struggle; and other concerns. An approach to scoring the patients' degree of unmet spiritual concerns was adapted from the literature. Assessing cases from the chaplains' practice led to high levels of agreement (reliability). Conclusion: Using the PC-7 model, chaplains can describe and quantify the key spiritual concerns of palliative care patients. Further research is needed to test its validity, reliability, and clinical usefulness.

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Outcomes for Professional Health Care Chaplaincy: An International Call to Action

Cited by 63 publications

References 12 publications

Toward a Fully Fledged Integration of Spiritual Care and Medical Care

Toward a Fully Fledged Integration of Spiritual Care and Medical Care

Improving Spiritual Care in Hospitals in the Netherlands: What Do Health Care Chaplains Involved in an Action-Research Study Report?

Development of the PC-7, a Quantifiable Assessment of Spiritual Concerns of Patients Receiving Palliative Care Near the End of Life

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