Transcending differences to study the transcendent: an exploratory study of researchers’ and chaplains’ reflections on interdisciplinary spiritual care research collaboration

Abstract

BackgroundDespite recognition of the centrality of professional board-certified chaplains (BCC) in palliative care, the discipline has little research to guide its practices. To help address this limitation, HealthCare Chaplaincy Network funded six proposals in which BCCs worked collaboratively with established researchers. Recognizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in the development of a new field, this paper reports on an exploratory study of project members’ reflections over time on the benefits and challenges of conducting inter-disciplinary spiritual care research.MethodsData collection occurred in two stages. Stage 1 entailed two independent, self-reflective focus groups, organized by professional discipline, mid-way through the site projects. Stage 2 entailed end-of-project site reports and a conference questionnaire.ResultsEighteen professionals participated in the group discussions. Stage 1: researchers perceived chaplains as eager workers passionately committed to their patients and to research, and identified challenges faced by chaplains in learning to conduct research. Chaplains perceived researchers as passionate about their work, were concerned research might uncover negative findings for their profession, and sensed they used a dissimilar paradigm from their research colleagues regarding the ‘ways of relating’ to knowledge and understanding.Stage 2: researchers and chaplains noted important changes they ascribed to the interdisciplinary collaboration that were classified into six domains of cultural and philosophical understanding: respect; learning; discovery; creativity; fruitful partnerships; and learning needs.ConclusionsChaplains and researchers initially expressed divergent perspectives on the research collaborations. During the projects’ lifespans, these differences were acknowledged and addressed. Mutual appreciation for each discipline’s strengths and contributions to inter-professional dialogue emerged.

Practical actions for fostering cross-disciplinary global health research: lessons from a narrative literature review

“…66 Researchers from various disciplines may interpret a problem differently, 36 55 60 80 especially when working with non-research partners. 88 Individuals who read research papers from other disciplines and discuss together, 55 who explore dimensions to test problem boundaries and who tolerate ambiguity are valuable for identifying optimum research scope and finalising research questions. 40 A common conceptual framework is vital for a crossdisciplinary research project 60 66 67 72 85 89 ; it clarifies the scope of research, 67 85 shows the possible complex interactions among different variables/factors, 89 displays contributions of each discipline, 60 provides guidance for collaboration, 66 67 85 and facilitates both internal and external communications regarding the overall research project.…”

Cuidadores(as) espirituais nos cuidados paliativos: revisão integrativa de literatura empírica

“…Os estudos apontam para diferentes interesses de pesquisa, dependendo do país de coleta de dados. Assim, dos 31 estudos realizados nos EUA, 22 trabalhos (70%) investigaram a prática do cuidado espiritual prestado no contexto dos cuidados paliativos (ANDERSON et al, 2015;CHANG et al, 2012aCHANG et al, , 2012bDALY;MATZEL, 2013;DAMEN et al, 2018;FITCHETT et al, 2011;GOMEZ-CASTILLO et al, 2015;HANDZO;FLANNELLY;HUGHES, 2017;HEISER;BRENNAN;REDIC II, 2004;HOLYOKE;STEPHENSON, 2017;IDLER et al, 2015;JEULAND et al, 2017;KEARNEY;FISCHER;GRONINGER, 2017;KESTENBAUM et al, 2015;LEBARON et al, 2016;MASSEY et al, 2015;MOLLICA et al, 2018;MONTAGNINI et al, 2018;PANTILAT et al, 2012;PIOTROWSKI, 2013;POWELL et al, 2015;SHIELDS;DUNN, 2015). Da mesma forma, 3 das 4 pesquisas (75%) realizadas na Inglaterra também se referem à prática de cuidado espiritual prestado em CP (BURBECK et al, 2015;CAWLEY;WEBBER, 1995;WILLIAMS et al, 2004).…”

“…Trinta publicações pesquisaram a atuação do(a) cuidador(a) espiritual nos CP (ANDERSON et al, 2015;BURBECK et al, 2015;CAWLEY;WEBBER, 1995;CHANG et al, 2012aCHANG et al, , 2012bCOOPER et al, 2010;DALY;MATZEL, 2013;DAMEN et al, 2019;FITCHETT et al, 2011;GEER et al, 2018;GOMEZ-CASTILLO et al, 2015;HEISER;BRENNAN;REDIC II, 2004;HOLYOKE;STEPHENSON, 2017;IDLER et al, 2015;JEULAND et al, 2017;KEARNEY;FISCHER;GRONINGER, 2017;KERNOHAN et al, 2007;KESTENBAUM et al, 2015;LEBARON et al, 2016;MASSEY et al, 2015;MOLLICA et al, 2018;MONTAGNINI et al, 2018;O'CALLAGHAN et al, 2018;PAGIS;TAL;CADGE, 2017;PANTILAT et al, 2012;PESUT, 2016;PIOTROWSKI, 2013;POWELL et al, 2015;SHIELDS;DUNN, 2015).…”

“…Evidenciou-se a contribuição diferenciada do(a) capelão(ã) como integrante da equipe interdisciplinar de pesquisa (KEARNEY; FISCHER; GRONINGER, 2017;KESTENBAUM et al, 2015). Essa atuação será facilitada se houver respeito, aprendizagem, descoberta, criatividade, parceria produtiva e identificação das necessidades de aprendizagem (POWELL et al, 2015).…”