The spiritual care intervention “In dialogue with your life story”: Results of a longitudinal study on palliative clients’ spiritual wellbeing

Background: Spiritual care is important for palliative care, but the evidence base for spiritual care provision is low.Aim:To investigate the course over time of clients’ spiritual wellbeing who participated in the spiritual care intervention “In dialogue with your life story.”Design: The intervention consisted of six individual sessions between client and chaplain of various faiths. A longitudinal study was conducted pre- and post-intervention, and a follow-up approximately 10 weeks after post-intervention. Spiritual wellbeing was measured using the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 and NEIS, and symptoms of anxiety and depression as secondary outcome measure using the HADS. Latent growth modeling was used to investigate changes in outcome measures over time.Setting/Participants: Adult clients receiving home-based, palliative care were eligible to participate in this study.Results: A total of 75 clients and 33 chaplains participated. On the four EORTC QLQ-SWQ32-subscales, a significant increase was found over time on “relationship with self,” “relationship with others,” and ‘“existential wellbeing” (linear trends). “Relationship with someone or something greater” significantly increased over time but decreased 10 weeks post-intervention (quadratic trend). On the two NEIS-subscales, ego-integrity significantly increased over time (linear trend), while despair significantly decreased (quadratic trend). On the two HADS-subscales, symptoms of anxiety significantly decreased over time (linear trend). No significant change was found for depressive symptoms.Conclusions: We provided first empirical evidence for an increase in clients’ spiritual wellbeing after enrollment in the spiritual care intervention “In dialogue with your life story.” Future research using control conditions is needed to investigate its causal effect

Interfaith Collaboration:Boundary Crossing in a Participatory Action Research Project with Health Care Chaplains in The Netherlands

This article explores the challenges faced by a multifaith chaplaincy team in a Dutch health care organization when searching for a shared professional identity regarding the role of worldview and religion. Using boundary theory, we show how the diverse worldviews and the contradictory visions on their role for chaplaincy’s professional identity led to misunderstandings and conflict. However, open and respectful dialogue about these differences helped clarify disagreements and identify common ground. The findings suggest that in secular contexts worldview remains significant in chaplaincy and that engaging in dialogue about worldviews and seeking connections across differences is the basis for a shared professional identity

Opening up the black box of chaplaincy:a qualitative study into the reported workings of a narrative and interfaith spiritual care intervention in palliative care at home

This study investigated the reported workings of a narrative and interfaith spiritual care intervention in palliative care at home called "In dialogue with your life story." It was developed to address clients' spiritual needs in the religious plural context of the Netherlands. Thus far, how the intervention impacted clients' spiritual well-being remained a black box. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with and workbooks of clients (N = 75) and chaplains (N = 33) indicated seven intervention elements that promoted clients' spiritual well-being in four ways: (1) they offered new insights and a better overview, (2) provided a place to connect and share experiences, (3) helped to reach deeper layers of meaning, and (4) brought out feelings of calmness and gratitude. The findings shed light on the intervention's black box and encourage further exploration of associations between chaplaincy goals, processes, and outcomes