Staff Perceptions of Chaplains in a Neurosciences Critical Care Unit.

Hospital chaplains often visit critically ill patients, but neurosciences critical care unit (NCCU) staff beliefs surrounding chaplains have not been characterized. In this study, we used Qualtrics® to survey 70 NCCU healthcare workers about their attitudes toward chaplains in the NCCU. Chaplains were seen positively by staff but were less likely to be viewed as part of the care team by staff with more than five years of NCCU experience. The results of this study will allow chaplaincy programs to target staff education efforts in order to enhance the care provided to patients in critical care settings.

Patient Appreciation of Student Chaplain Visits During Their Hospitalization.

Spiritual care is associated with improved health outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. However, chaplains often cover many hospital units and thus may not be able to serve all patients. Involving student chaplains in patient spiritual care may allow for more patients to experience the support of spiritual care. In this study, we surveyed 93 patients hospitalized on general medical units at a tertiary care center who were visited by nine student chaplain summer interns. The results indicated that the majority of patients appreciated student chaplain visits and these encounters may have positively influenced their overall hospital experience. Thus, student chaplains could be a way to extend valuable spiritual care in settings where chaplaincy staff shortages preclude access.

Operationalizing the Measuring What Matters Spirituality Quality Metric in a Population of Hospitalized, Critically Ill Patients and Their Family Members.

CONTEXT: Measuring What Matters (MWM) quality indicators support measurement of the percentage of patients who have spiritual discussions, if desired. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to 1) determine the ease of, and barriers to, prospectively collecting MWM spirituality quality measure data and 2) further explore the importance of spirituality in a seriously ill, hospitalized population of critically ill patients and their family members. METHODS: Electronic medical record (EMR) review and cross-sectional survey of intensive care unit (ICU) patients and their family members from October to December 2015. Participants were in four adult ICUs totaling 68 beds at a single academic, urban, tertiary care center which has ICU-assigned chaplains and an in-house, 24-hour, on-call chaplain. RESULTS: All patients had a "Spiritual Risk Screen" which included two questions identifying patient religion and whether a chaplain visit was desired. Approximately 2/3 of ICU patients were eligible, and there were 144 respondents (50% female; 57% patient and 43% family member), with the majority being Caucasian or African American (68% and 21%, respectively). Common religious identifications were Christian or no faith tradition (76% and 11%, respectively). Approximately half of patients had an EMR chaplain note although it did not document presence of a "spiritual discussion." No study patients received palliative care consultation. A majority (85%) noted that spirituality was "important to them" and that prevalence remained high across respondent age, race, faith tradition, or admitting ICU. CONCLUSION: Operationalizing the MWM spirituality quality indicator was challenging as elements of a "spiritual screening" or documentation of a "spiritual discussion" were not clearly documented in the EMR. The high prevalence of spirituality among respondents validates the importance of spirituality as a potential quality metric.

Hospital Chaplains: Through the Eyes of Parents of Hospitalized Children.

BACKGROUND: Chaplain services are available in 68% of hospitals, but hospital chaplains are not yet incorporated into routine patient care. OBJECTIVES: To describe how families of hospitalized children view and utilize hospital chaplains. DESIGN: Telephone survey with 40 questions: Likert, yes/no, and short-answer responses. SUBJECTS: Parents visited by a hospital chaplain during their child's hospitalization in a tertiary care center. MEASUREMENTS: Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. Nonparametrics were used to compare religious versus nonreligious parents. Regression was used to identify independent predictors of a chaplain visit positively influencing satisfaction with hospital care. RESULTS: Seventy-four parents were interviewed; most were 25-50 years old, and 75% felt their child was very sick. Children ranged from newborn to adolescence. Forty-two percent of parents requested a chaplain visit; of the 58% with an unsolicited visit, 11% would have preferred giving prior approval. Parents felt that chaplains provided religious and secular services, including family support and comfort, help with decision making, medical terminology, and advocacy. Chaplains helped most parents maintain hope and reduce stress. Seventy-five percent of parents viewed chaplains as a member of the healthcare team; 38% reported that chaplains helped medical personnel understand their preferences for care and communication. Most parents (66%) felt that hospital chaplaincy increased their satisfaction with hospital care. CONCLUSION: Families play a fundamental role in the recovery of hospitalized children. Parents view hospital chaplains as members of the healthcare team and report that they play an important role in the well-being of the family during childhood hospitalization. Chaplains positively influence satisfaction with hospital care.