WJC08 Session 4 - How Do Parents Of Hospitalized Children See Chaplains?

Description:

Overview:
Chaplain services are widely available in both adult and pediatric medical settings, yet chaplaincy services are not always incorporated into routine patient care. The article for this webinar reports the results of a survey of parents whose children were hospitalized at a tertiary care facility who received a visit from a chaplain, over 50% of whom had an unsolicited visit. The survey addresses whether families saw the chaplain as a part of their child’s healthcare team and whether chaplain visits, solicited and unsolicited, improved overall family perception of quality of care. As families are fundamental to the recovery of hospitalized children, parents reported that chaplains were viewed as part of the healthcare team and did play a role in helping the well-being of family members is an important finding with implications for clinical practice.

Learning Objectives:

• To examine how parents of hospitalized children understand the role and function of the chaplain in the hospital setting
• To explore parent preferences for type of chaplain visits (solicited vs. unsolicited) and how chaplain visits influenced overall satisfaction with their child’s care
• To help chaplains develop and maintain research literacy, including the ability to critically read research and, where appropriate, apply the findings in their professional practice

Reading:
Pamela K. Donohue, Matt Norvell, Renee D. Boss, Jennifer Shepard, Karen Frank, Christina Patron, and Thomas Y. Crowe. “Hospital Chaplains: Through the Eyes of Parents of Hospitalized Children.” Journal of Palliative Medicine 20, no. 12 (December 2017): 1352–58

Presenters:
Rev. Marilyn J. D. Barnes MS MA MPH BCC, is a Vice President of Mission and Spiritual Care in the Advocate Aurora Health Care System in Illinois. She previously served as a Senior Staff Chaplain at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. She is a 2018 Transforming Chaplaincy Fellow graduate. Her research interests include the use of simulation in chaplaincy training and education, the impact of spiritual/religious coping on the association between discrimination and stress among midlife women, and the experiences of health care chaplains of color.

Cate Michelle Desjardins MDiv MPH, is the Executive Director of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship and convener of the Pediatrics Spiritual Care Research Network. She previously served for five years in various roles at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Her research interests include the role of religion in surrogate decision-making and in coping with caregiving for children with complex medical needs. She completed the Transforming Chaplaincy Research Fellowship in 2019.

Rev. Shelley Varner-Perez MDiv MPH BCC CPH, is Senior Program Manager and Chaplain-Researcher at Indiana University (IU) Health, Indianapolis, as well as an Affiliated Research Scientist in the Center for Aging Research with the Regenstrief Institute. She previously served nine years as a chaplain at VA Portland Health Care System in Portland, Oregon. She completed the Transforming Chaplaincy Research Fellowship in 2019 at the conclusion of a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology. Her research interests include spiritual care with family surrogate decision-makers and staff support following code blue events, as well as using art to engage those who are non-religious/unaffiliated.

How It Works:
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