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The role of chaplains in end-of-life decision making: Results of a pilot survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2013

Stephanie Clemm ,
Ralf J. Jox ,
Gian Domenico Borasio  and
Traugott Roser
Stephanie Clemm*
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, Munich University Hospital, Munich, Germany
Ralf J. Jox
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, Munich University Hospital, Munich, Germany Institute for Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, Munich University Hospital, Munich, Germany
Gian Domenico Borasio
Affiliation:
Service de Soins Palliatifs, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Traugott Roser
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, Munich University Hospital, Munich, Germany Department for Protestant Theology, University Münster, Münster, Germany
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Stephanie Clemm, Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, Munich University Hospital, Professorship for Spiritualcare, Marchioninistraße 15, D-81377 Munich, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective:

The overall aim of this study was to discover how chaplains assess their role within ethically complex end-of-life decisions.

Methods:

A questionnaire was sent to 256 chaplains working for German health care institutions. Questions about their role and satisfaction as well as demographic data were collected, which included information about the chaplains' integration within multi-professional teams.

Results:

The response rate was 59%, 141 questionnaires were analyzed. Respondents reported being confronted with decisions concerning the limitation of life-sustaining treatment on average two to three times per month. Nearly 74% were satisfied with the decisions made within these situations. However, only 48% were satisfied with the communication process. Whenever chaplains were integrated within a multi-professional team there was a significantly higher satisfaction with both: the decisions made (p = 0.000) and the communication process (p = 0.000).

Significance of the results:

Although the results of this study show a relatively high satisfaction among surveyed chaplains with regard to the outcome of decisions, one of the major problems seems to reside in the communication process. A clear integration of chaplains within multi-professional teams (such as palliative care teams) appears to increase the satisfaction with the communication in ethically critical situations.

Keywords

Health care chaplaincyEnd-of-life treatment decisionsMulti-professional treatment teamPalliative care
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 45 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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