Mental Health of Cross-Cultural Healthcare Missionaries

Strand, Mark; Pinkston, Lauren M.; Chen, Alice I.; Richardson, Jarrett W.

doi:10.1177/009164711504300406

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Positive religious coping embodies the experience of God as director, enabler and supportive partner. Positive religious coping has a notable stressbuffering effect, with more positive caregiver health outcomes [6]. Importantly, positive religious coping was implicit in the universal response of strengthened relationship with God as a result of the caring role, for missionaries in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Strand and workers [6] emphasised the vulnerability of cross cultural missionaries to mental health challenges. They cited the high incidence of depressive and adjustment disorders among this population, and the ensuing decrease in their health-related quality of life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are an estimated 400,000 Christian missionaries working cross culturally around the world [6]. Such are the missionaries in this study, who maintain priority focus on service to the marginalized and destitute.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Missionaries Experience Mental and Spiritual Health Gains While Caring for the Poor in Residential Facilities in Jamaica

Ka¹

2017

J Fam Med

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Objective: Psychological and spiritual caregiving gains in cross-cultural missionaries providing invaluable formal, unpaid, full time care at residential facilities in a remote, inner-city island setting were investigated. Method:One hundred and ten (110) Missionary caregivers of over 500 mentally and physically challenged and terminally ill children and adults in residential mission facilities completed a validated 10-item questionnaire, investigating positive aspects of caregiving and spiritual gain.Results: ANOVA on mean frequencies demonstrated significant gains in self-affirmation (p<0.001), outlook on life (p<0.001), and a strengthened relationship with God (p<0.001). Conclusion:Psychological and spiritual gains of missionaries providing vital care at residential facilities highlighted positive aspects of caregiving.Keywords: Positive aspects of caregiving; Missionary; Residential home; Spiritual health; Mental health facilities, they provide full time care for abandoned, terminally ill, physically and mentally disabled, homeless destitute men, women and children. These shelters provide permanent residence for over 500 persons, representing an inestimable economic and social contribution to Jamaica, a developing country. The missionaries (locally known as 'Brothers') conduct all hygiene, nutrition, mobility, toileting, home medical daily living care for all of the residents. It is an intense, unremitting, daily caregiving role.The study aimed to identify positive aspects of caregiving (PAC) and spiritual gains for these cross-cultural missionaries. DesignThis study was a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional census of a single group of 110 formal, unpaid missionary caregivers at residential facilities. MethodsEthical approval was obtained from the University of the West Indies Faculty of Medical Sciences Ethics committee prior to administration of the survey. Brothers included in the sample were professed missionaries for at least 3 years, had lived on the island for at least 2 years and were providing full-time care to residents at one of the 6 residential facilities for at least 2 years.Demographic data collected were age, country of birth and number of years working with residents in the homes. The internationally accepted nine-item Positive Aspects of Caregiving (PAC) tool [7] was used in its entirety, with permission. It was previously validated by those authors with an appropriate culturally and ethnically diverse sample. A 10 th item related to spiritual strengthening was included,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Missionaries Experience Mental and Spiritual Health Gains While Caring for the Poor in Residential Facilities in Jamaica

Ka¹

2017

J Fam Med

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“…10,25 The PRISM Study found 60.1 and 65.8% of men and women to have experienced a moderate to serious bout of anxiety, and 45.0 and 55.5% of men and women to have experienced a moderate to serious bout of depression. 26 As a baseline for comparison, the lifetime prevalence of depression among physicians in the U.S. is 12% for men age 45-54 and 19.5% for women, although the method of measurement used was different from that used in the PRISM Study. 27 Anxiety and depression are distinct but related psychological conditions, 28 with comorbid anxiety present in 50% of persons with major depression.…”

Section: Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the global context for cross-cultural healthcare work by regions of the world

Strand

Paulson²,

Myrick

2015

han-j-cjgh

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Healthcare missionaries (n=393) from 18 English-speaking countries, serving in 67 countries, were surveyed. With an average of 11 years of field experience and working primarily in the local language, participants in this study were able to report on healthcare situations and experience for expatriate healthcare missionaries in their countries of service. The healthcare institutions in most countries of the world were reported to be improving. Most countries were reported hospitable to the presence of expatriate missionaries, but there also existed some resistance to expression of Christian faith in the workplace. As mission organizations consider where to place healthcare professionals for medical service, consideration should be given to the trends and opportunities present in different regions of the world, so as to achieve the greatest outcomes and to provide the best match between the missionary and the context in which they work.

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“…Trimble (2006) leveraged insights and constructs from organizational psychology (i.e., organization commitment and job satisfaction) to help mission organizations reduce preventable attrition. Similarly, Strand, Pinkston, Chen, and Richardson (2015) spoke of the importance of role satisfaction in the mental health of missionary healthcare workers.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Brief History of Psychology and Missions in JPT: Looking Back, Around, and Forward

Crawford

Wang

2016

Journal of Psychology and Theology

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influential to psychology practitioners and researchers involved in missions. Member Care. O'Donnell (1997), in his seminal article, "Member care in missions: Global perspectives and future directions," provided the now frequently referenced definition of the term member care: "Member care is the ongoing investment of resources by mission agencies, churches, and other mission organizations for the nurture and development of missionary personnel. It focuses on everyone in missions (missionaries, support staff, children, and families) and does so over the course of the missionary life-cycle, from recruitment through retirement" (p. 144). Concurrent with O'Donnell's work were the influential Reducing Missionary Attrition (ReMAP) studies (Taylor, 1997; Bloecher, 2005). Over the eight years between the ReMap I and the ReMAP II studies, the missionary attrition rate among New Sending Countries (e.g. Brazil, Ghana, Philippines, etc.) dropped by 50%; moreover, attrition rates in Older Sending Countries (e.g. Canada, Germany, U.S.A., etc.) remained low, in spite of global trends toward shorter appointments and frequent career changes (Bloecher, 2005). Bloecher (2005) in fact credited the contribution of on-field member care efforts and more comprehensive candidate selection procedures for these improvements in attrition rates. Many of the participants in the ReMAP studies who spoke of the effectiveness of member care efforts were mission agency leaders, rather than the missionaries themselves. To address this gap, Camp, Bustrum, Brokav, and Adams (2014) investigated the effectiveness of current member care practices specifically from the perspective of missionaries. This paper augmented

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Mental Health of Cross-Cultural Healthcare Missionaries

Cited by 10 publications

References 30 publications

Missionaries Experience Mental and Spiritual Health Gains While Caring for the Poor in Residential Facilities in Jamaica

Missionaries Experience Mental and Spiritual Health Gains While Caring for the Poor in Residential Facilities in Jamaica

Characterizing the global context for cross-cultural healthcare work by regions of the world

A Brief History of Psychology and Missions in JPT: Looking Back, Around, and Forward

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