The outcomes of healthcare chaplaincy on hospitalized patients. A quasi-experimental study in Belgium

Buelens, Eva; Dewitte, Laura; Dezutter, Jessie; Vandenhoeck, Anne; Dillen, Annemie

doi:10.1080/19349637.2023.2177239

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Some chaplains worry, therefore, that adopting this term as central to their professional identity will result in an instrumentalization of this discipline toward objectives such as productivity, societal participation, and cost reduction. In a sense, this trend can already be observed in studies that examine the effects of chaplaincy on well-being, (mental) health, and care costs (Alghanim et al 2021;Buelens et al 2023;Kirchoff et al 2021). Molenaar (2016Molenaar ( , 2022 also notes this movement in the professional profile by the VGVZ, where it states that: "Through the systematic and methodical attention to meaning and belief systems, spiritual caregivers contribute to the well-being of people in relation to themselves, others and their environment."…”

Section: Meaning As Instrumental To External Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 85%

Positioning Chaplaincy in the Pluralistic and Multidisciplinary Dutch Care Context

Visser,

Zock,

Muthert

2023

Religions

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The professional identity of chaplains is under question because of societal trends of disaffiliation from and pluralization of religion, and of deinstitutionalization of care. Chaplaincy in the Netherlands looks to discourse around “meaning” to navigate these challenges. The use of the term “meaning” as the central concept in the professional identity of chaplaincy (and, by extension, spiritual care) is not undisputed, however. There are three related critiques: 1. Meaning and meaning-making have a strong cognitive and intentional connotation, which does not do justice to the lived experience of meaning and might lead to a medicalization of meaning. 2. The term meaning places the professional identity of chaplaincy in the instrumental discourse of other professions, which might lead to “abuse” of spiritual care toward external objectives such as health, (hedonistic) well-being, and/or economic gain, instead of internal objectives such as faith and spirituality. 3. A focus on meaning leads to a marginalization of religion, both societally and within chaplaincy, which might negatively affect chaplaincy’s core competence of hermeneutic understanding and worldview counseling. We conclude that finding one language to present the discipline might not be feasible and desirable. Instead, we advocate for the revitalization of the hermeneutic competency of chaplains.

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Section: Meaning As Instrumental To External Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 85%

Positioning Chaplaincy in the Pluralistic and Multidisciplinary Dutch Care Context

Visser,

Zock,

Muthert

2023

Religions

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“…Three studies showed a decrease in anxiety in patients and family after receiving a visit/visits by the chaplain (Berning et al, 2016 ; Iler et al, 2001 ; Torke et al, 2023 ). Three studies found no effect of spiritual care interventions provided by volunteers or by chaplains on patients' anxiety (Bay et al, 2008 ; Buelens et al, 2023 ; Miles et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Outcome Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Faith indicates the role of religion/spirituality in people’s life. Studies showed an increase in patients’ peace/peacefulness after receiving chaplaincy interventions (Buelens et al, 2023 ; Piderman et al, 2017 ). The same was found in studies with spiritual care interventions by a multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary care team, including the chaplain (Piderman et al, 2014 ; Sun et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Outcome Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In subsequent studies, it could be of interest to investigate long-term effects, especially in residential care for older adults. Recent studies in Belgian and Dutch hospitals have, so far, found no effects of spiritual/chaplaincy interventions after a couple of weeks or a couple of months (Buelens et al, 2023 ; Kruizinga et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Limitations and Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, studies examining the outcomes of chaplaincy interventions generally suffer from four methodological limitations (see also Buelens et al, 2023 ; Jankowski et al, 2011 ). First, a comparison group is often lacking (Kestenbaum et al, 2017 ; Kevern & Hill, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Healthcare Chaplaincy for Geriatric Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study into the Outcomes of Catholic Chaplaincy Interventions in Belgium

Desmet,

Dezutter,

Vandenhoeck

et al. 2024

J Relig Health

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The present non-randomized clinical trial examined the short-term outcomes of one-on-one chaplaincy interventions with 416 geriatric patients in Belgium. Participants were interviewed one or two days before a potential chaplaincy intervention (baseline measurement), and one or two days after a potential intervention (post-measurement). Patients in the non-randomized intervention group received an intervention by the chaplain, while the non-randomized comparison group did not. Patients in the intervention group showed a significant decrease in state anxiety and negative affect, and a significant improvement in levels of hope, positive affect, peace, and Scottish PROM-scores, compared to the comparison group. Levels of meaning in life and faith did not significantly change after the chaplaincy intervention. This study suggests that geriatric patients may benefit from chaplaincy care and recommends the integration of chaplaincy care into the care for older adults.

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Geriatric inpatients’ experiences with one-on-one chaplaincy visits in Belgium

Desmet,

Dezutter,

Vandenhoeck

et al. 2024

Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy

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The outcomes of healthcare chaplaincy on hospitalized patients. A quasi-experimental study in Belgium

Cited by 3 publications

References 53 publications

Positioning Chaplaincy in the Pluralistic and Multidisciplinary Dutch Care Context

Positioning Chaplaincy in the Pluralistic and Multidisciplinary Dutch Care Context

Healthcare Chaplaincy for Geriatric Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study into the Outcomes of Catholic Chaplaincy Interventions in Belgium

Geriatric inpatients’ experiences with one-on-one chaplaincy visits in Belgium

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