Spiritual Care: The Role of Health Care Chaplaincy

Abstract

Professional chaplains play an important role in addressing the religious and spiritual needs of patients in healthcare. This chapter offers an overview of their work worldwide with attention to variations associated with national context. A description is given of, among others, the contemporary context in which chaplains operate and emerging issues for the future; models for spiritual care in healthcare including the distinction between spiritual care generalists and specialists; chaplains’ training, competencies, certification and registration; chaplains’ ethical practice, scope of practice and quality indicators; screening and assessment tools, interventions and outcomes; and finally research into chaplaincy. At the end of the chapter resources are offered for more detailed descriptions of spiritual care in various national contexts.