The Role of the Healthcare Chaplain: A Literature Review
Abstract
Healthcare chaplains operate in many healthcare sites internationally and yet their contribution is not always clearly understood by medical and healthcare staff. This review aims to explore the chaplains' role in healthcare, with a view to informing best practice in future healthcare chaplaincy. Overall the extent of the provision and staffing of chaplaincy service internationally is unclear. From this review, several key spiritual and pastoral roles in healthcare emerge including a potential contribution to ethical decision making at the end of life. Healthcare chaplains are key personnel, already employed in many healthcare organizations, who are in a pivotal position to contribute to future developments of faith-based care, faith-sensitive pastoral, and spiritual care provision. They also have a new and evolving role in ethical support of patient, families and healthcare teams.
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A review of healthcare chaplaincy found that of 19 specific interventions delivered by chaplains in hospitals, just nine were categorised as religious or spiritual.
“A review of healthcare chaplaincy found that of 19 specific interventions delivered by chaplains in hospitals, just nine were categorised as religious or spiritual (Timmins et al., 2018).”
From The Role and Impact of the Prison Chaplain: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis (2024) · cites this paper as Timmins et al., 2018
Cites
Hierarchy of evidence: a framework for ranking evidence evaluating healthcare interventions
Evans, D. (2003) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2702.2003.00662.x · Cited by 993 · see citing works
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Chaplaincy, spiritual care and moral injury: Considerations regarding screening and treatment
Carey, L. B., & Hodgson, T. J. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00619 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
The Role and Impact of the Prison Chaplain: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis
Jarrett, M., Skinner, J., Busulwa, R., Dyson, J., & Brooke, J. (2024) · Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling: Advancing theory and professional practice through scholarly and reflective publications · doi:10.1177/15423050241296487 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Timmins, F., Caldeira, S., Murphy, M., Pujol, N., Sheaf, G., Weathers, E., Whelan, J., & Flanagan, B.
- Affiliations
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa (PT)
- Université Catholique de Lille (FR)
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Bahrain (BH)
- Waterford Institute of Technology (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Timmins, Fiona
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-06-21
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 87-106
- ISSN
- 0885-4726 (ISSN-L)
- 1528-6916
- OpenAlex
- W2710811733
- Cited by
- 122
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 0.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Contemporary Christian Leadership and Education
- Social Sciences › Demography › Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
- Keywords
- healthcare chaplaincy, chaplain role, spiritual care, pastoral care, faith-based care, end-of-life care, ethical decision-making
- MeSH terms
- Bioethics, Clergy, Humans, Pastoral Care, Professional Role
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