Religious
Spirituality and Patients
COMMENTARY
What Can Chaplains Do in Outpatient Palliative Care?
During three scheduled encounters, chaplains identified the patients’ unmet needs in these three areas and developed plans to meet those needs. In a pre-/post-test design, outcomes were assessed using well-studied tools that measured patient symptoms, spirituality, coping, dignity, depression, and anxiety. From before to after the intervention, increases were seen in several aspects of spiritual well-being, including the subscales for “faith” and “religious coping.”
Viewpoint
Spirituality is a key dimension of quality palliative care, yet palliative care programs need models of care to integrate spiritual care into standard practice. As with all domains of palliative care, there is also a need to generate evidence supporting clinical practice. This study makes an important contribution to the fields of palliative care and spiritual care by testing a model of outpatient spiritual care and including important patient-centered outcomes.
In their discussion, the study authors acknowledge that other variables might have influenced their findings and that some of the tools they used might be measuring psychosocial factors rather than strictly religious or spiritual ones. However, these overlapping constructs are related to purpose, meaning, comfort, and peace-all of which are associated with quality of life, regardless of the patient’s specific faith or belief system.
Chaplains are the spiritual care specialists within interdisciplinary teams, and their contributions, as well as outcomes of their work, have not been well supported or -studied. The Spiritual-AIM intervention has great potential to guide the training of other chaplains and to help achieve a higher level of care for patients and families.
Interfaith Blessing of Hands for Texas Medical Center
Interfaith Blessing of Hands
Houston Hospice Cockrell Chapel
1905 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030
713-467-7423
Wednesday October 28, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
A Tradition in Many Cultures
Blessing of Hands is a tradition among many cultures and religions as well as in many medical institutions. The Texas Medical Center’s Houston Hospice believes this voluntary, nondenominational act recognizes and unites health care employees, volunteers and caregivers who have chosen the shared journey of caring for patients, directly and non-directly. Blessing of Hands is a spiritual exercise and prayer to honor those who give of themselves each day. Affirming their work through this blessing is meant to strengthen and renew their efforts.
Services are for all Texas Medical Center staff, volunteers and caregivers and last about 15 minutes. For more information about Blessing of the Hands services, contact Chaplain Gordon Robertson at 713-677- 7220.
—Karla Goolsby, Houston Hospice Communication Specialist