Hospital-based spiritual care: what matters to patients?

Demographic changes in Australia have led to an increase in both religious diversity and the number of people who do not nominate a faith affiliation at hospital admission. Models of chaplaincy have shifted from clerical and largely male to an increasingly skilled and diverse spiritual care workforce appointed directly by health services. This study uses survey and in-depth interview methods at an inner-city Australian hospital to examine patient preferences for hospital chaplaincy provided by faith communities, and the importance of faith affiliation compared to other spiritual care provider characteristics.

Understanding the outcomes of spiritual care as experienced by patients.

In moving toward professionalising spiritual care in the healthcare system, as an equal partner in whole person care, it has become increasingly important to develop an evidence base for spiritual care interventions, their value and longer-term outcomes for those receiving this care. This study utilised hard copy questionnaires across five Australian general hospitals to investigate patient reported outcomes of in-patient spiritual care. The survey included the Scottish Patient Reported Outcomes Measure (PROM), measures of patient experience and an open-ended question about experience of care.

Patients' and Caregivers' Contested Perspectives on Spiritual Care for Those Affected by Advanced Illnesses: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Context: Spiritual care refers to practices and rituals addressing spiritual/religious concerns. It supports coping with loss and finding hope, meaning, and peace. Although integral to palliative care, its implementation is challenging.

"Life Within the Person Comes to The Fore": Pastoral Workers' Practice Wisdom on Using Arts in Palliative Care.

Background: Pastoral care (also chaplaincy, spiritual care) assists people to find meaning, personal resources, and connection with self, others, and/or a higher power. Although essential in palliative care, there remains limited examination of what pastoral workers do. This study examined how pastoral workers use and consider the usefulness of art-based modalities.

Capturing religious identity during hospital admission: a valid practice in our increasingly secular society?

Objective Most major Victorian hospitals include religious identity in routine admission demographic questions. However, approximately 20% of admissions do not have their religious identity recorded. At the Royal Melbourne Hospital this missing 20% was surveyed throughout 2014-15 for two reasons: (1) to enable patient care; and (2) to provide an insight into the significance of religious identity for patients.