Mapping the Healthcare Chaplaincy Literature: An Analytical Review of Publications Authored by Chaplains and Theologians Between 2000 and 2018

Abstract

The body of theoretical and empirical research led by chaplains and theologians between 2000 and 2018 is developing into a rich, diverse, and methodologically rigorous healthcare chaplaincy literature, which this review proposes to map. Online keyword and bibliographical searches and specialist recommendations yielded 199 relevant publications, which we analyzed in terms of methodology, topic, and results. On this basis, this article identifies and describes five key areas of the literature: chaplains’ practices, spirituality, research, impact, and healthcare professionals’ practices of spiritual care. The discussion further highlights that publications would benefit from greater conceptual clarity, common research standards, and more critical research designs.

Keywords:

• Healthcare chaplaincy
• chaplains
• literature review
• spiritual care
• research

Notes

Notes

1 A preliminary, French-language version of this paper was prepared for the symposium “Spiritual care: discipline-specific, interprofessional, and ethical challenges,” Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland, October 18, 2018.

2 Which we will refer to as “the healthcare chaplaincy literature.”

3 This review was initiated in the context of a symposium on spiritual care in Lausanne, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, hence the inclusion of French-language publications.

4 The bibliography only includes references mentioned in the text. Among these are 11 literature reviews, which are not part of the main analysis but are mentioned in the introduction and discussion. A complete list of the 199 publications analyzed is available as supplementary online material.

5 On best practices with “special populations”, including disabled people and those with chronic illnesses, see also section 3 of Rabbi Stephen B. Roberts’ (2011) edited volume, Professional spiritual and pastoral care: a practical clergy and chaplain’s handbook. Woodstock, VT: Skylight Paths Publishing.

6 Unlike the other publications discussed in this review, this article only has one author with a background in chaplaincy or theology –Alexander Tartaglia, DMin.