Transforming Chaplaincy

The George Fitchett Reader

Steve Nolan, Annelieke Damen, Steve Nolan, Annelieke Damen

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781725294516
  9781725294523
• eBook ISBN:
  9781725294530
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Evidence-based medicine has transformed contemporary medical practice. For over twenty-five years, George Fitchett has been a pioneering advocate of the view that evidence-based spiritual care can, and should, equally transform chaplaincy. This book collects a key selection from his ground-breaking research. As models of good research practice, these papers demonstrate the real-world value of research and introduce their readers to issues that have continuing importance to spiritual care and professional chaplaincy. As such, this collection offers an ideal introduction to spiritual-care research. The collection is complemented by three essays, specially commissioned from observers well-positioned to comment on future directions for both professional chaplaincy and spiritual-care research.

Part I

Key Papers

Article 1

The Role of Religion in Medical Rehabilitation Outcomes

A Longitudinal Study1

—George Fitchett

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, IL

—Bruce D. Rybarczyk

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, IL

—Gail A. DeMarco

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, IL

—John J. Nicholas

Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia

The research program in the Department of Religion, Health and Human Values began in 1990. In 1996 the Fetzer Institute issued a request for proposals to examine the role of religion/spirituality for patients in medical rehabilitation. I had become familiar with the developing research about religion and health, including coping with illness, and approached Bruce Rybarczyk about submitting a proposal. Bruce, a clinical psychologist and experienced researcher, was interested in the role of religion in medical rehabilitation. Our proposal was funded and Bruce guided the data collection. None of our hypotheses about religion’s contributions to better rehabilitation outcomes were supported by the data. But to our surprise we found that higher levels of religious struggle (e.g., anger with God) were associated with poorer recovery of activities of daily living. This was one of the first reports of the harmful effects of religious struggle in a sample of medical patients. In the following years this finding was confirmed in many studies with diverse clinical samples and it became an important theme in our research (see Articles 3 and 9).

Abstract

Objective:

To investigate the protective and consolation models of the relationship between religion and health outcomes in medical rehabilitation patients.

Design:

Longitudinal study, data collected at admission, discharge and 4 months postadmission.

Measures:

Religion measures were public and private religiosity, acceptance, positive and negative religious coping, and spiritual injury. Outcomes were self-report of activities of daily living (ADL), mobility, general health, depression, and life satisfaction.

Participants:

96 medical rehabilitation inpatients; diagnoses included joint replacement, amputation, stroke, and other conditions.

Results:

The protective model of the relationship between religion and health was not supported; only limited support was found for the consolation model. In regression analyses, negative religious coping accounted for significant variance in follow-up ADL (5%) over and above that accounted for by admission ADL, depression, social support, and demographic variables. Subsequent item analysis indicated anger with God explained more variance (9%) than the full negative religious coping scale.

Conclusions:

Religion did not promote better recovery or adjustment, although it may have been a source of consolation for some patients who had limited recovery. Negative religious coping compromised ADL recovery. Although anger with God was rare, it may be useful in screening for patients who are spiritually at risk for poor recovery.

In recent years a considerable body of research has emerged regarding the relationship between religion and health (Koenig 1995; Larson 1993; Levin 1989, 1994a, 1994b, 1996; Levin and Schiller 1987; Matthews and Larson 1995; Matthews,...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Permissions
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I—Key Papers
• Part II—Commentary