Suchergebnisse

This article reflects on the experience of the chaplaincy team at Birmingham Children's Hospital who were filmed for a six part series by the BBC, a national broadcaster in Great Britain. It draws on feedback from the chaplains, patients and families filmed, other staff who were not filmed, the BBC, social media and unsolicited feedback from a range of sources. It addresses the benefits (education and awareness raising, inspirational, promotional, confidence building, opportunity to reflect) and drawbacks (limited view of chaplaincy, impact on the team, impact on the work) of the programme learning from it and offers recommendations to consider for others who may be approached about a similar opportunity.

A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify the distinctiveness of paediatric chaplaincy. Four representative databases were searched using key words and Boolean searches: Proquest Nursing and Allied Health Source, Psychinfo, Cumulative Index of Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and American Theological Library Association (ATLA). Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to identify pertinent literature. The search resulted in the identification of 96 items. These were retrieved and reviewed. A narrative approach to thematic analysis was adopted. This lead to the creation of four broad themes; relating to and supporting families including those receiving palliative, end of life and bereavement care; supporting children including spiritual and religious care; working as a part of multidisciplinary/ professional team; staff support and self-care. The findings suggest there is a notable lack of research undertaken by paediatric chaplains. Suggestions for education, practice and further research are offered.

Birmingham Children's Hospital, with permission from Advocate Health Care in Chicago, adapted a taxonomy of chaplaincy activities for a paediatric context. Twelve members of the Chaplaincy team, representing three world faiths, recorded their activities on 80 taxonomy charts and an audit questionnaire. The audit addressed issues outside of the taxonomy chart, including how spiritual needs were assessed, and asked for reflections on the use of the taxonomy. A thematic analysis was carried out on the audit responses by a team of four, including experienced chaplains and researchers. Themes identified for intended effects (why chaplains do what they do) were: initiate/build supportive relationships, engage to assist sense of belonging, mitigate/process feelings, enhance assets; for method (how chaplains do what they do): demonstrate/offer care, empower/enable, explore and process, engender and encourage strengths and emotions, family/community; and for intervention (what chaplains do): religious care, sense/ meaning making, processing, enhance spiritual wellbeing. The audit heightened intentionality and facilitated recording and explaining what chaplains do to multidisciplinary staff. It also helped the team better understand how they work through purposeful articulation of encounters.

A practical guide to improve care for sick and dying children of different faiths and their families. Drawing on evidence-based research and practice, it discusses multi-faith daily, palliative, end of life and bereavement care in a variety of settings, including hospitals, hospices, schools and at home. The book also contains case studies