Patients' Satisfaction with Health Care Chaplaincy and Affecting Factors: An Exploratory Study in the German Part of Switzerland

Abstract

Surveying patients' satisfaction with chaplaincy services contributes to improving the quality of health care chaplaincy. Therefore, 679 patients from 32 general hospitals and psychiatric clinics in the German part of Switzerland were surveyed in a cross-sectional design. Seven factors influencing patients' satisfaction with health care chaplaincy were identified. They pertain, on one hand, to the chaplain-patient relationship ("Respect and friendliness," "Empathy," "Negative relationship") and, on the other hand, to the evaluation of chaplains' interventions ("Religious/spiritual interventions," "Religious/spiritual issues," "Clarification, coping and support," "Conflict management and forgiveness"). Whereas the patient-chaplain relationship was significantly associated with the patient's age and religiosity, the apprehension of pastoral intervention was significantly associated with the patient's religiosity and denomination, length of stay, admission to hospital, and the patient's health status. The results suggest that chaplains have to take account of the situational circumstances and personal characteristics of patients in order to optimize their service.

Contributions of the chaplaincy service to the care of terminal patients

“…4 It is important to emphasize that the chaplaincy's mission is to offer spiritual, emotional and social support to the ill, their caregivers and health professionals, as well as to undertake activities of spiritual care and to accompany the patients' progression, in a non-proactive way and without proselytizing. 5,[10][11] Such assistance must be provided regardless of religious preference, situational circumstances, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic conditions or any other personal characteristics, thus re-establishing the interaction between spirituality and health and promoting the rapid recuperation of the patients receiving inpatient treatment, which also improves the quality of life of those in a terminal phase, who tend to mobilize and express their spirituality in a more intense form, in situations of emotional and existential crisis. 4,12 It is necessary to emphasize that, in the United States and the United Kingdom, the chaplain is part of the interdisciplinary team for care to the patient, also having access to their medical records, in which they record their visits, assessments, interventions and other activities of spiritual assistance, this being a routine action within the hospitals.…”