University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
Palliat Support Care. 2019 Oct;17(5):542-549. doi: 10.1017/S1478951518001062.
The prevalence of burnout and distress among palliative care professionals has received much attention since research suggests it negatively impacts the quality of care. Although limited, research suggests low levels of burnout or distress among healthcare chaplains; however, there has been no research among chaplains working in specific clinical contexts, including palliative care.
This study explored the distress, self-care, and debriefing practices of chaplains working in palliative care.
Exploratory, cross-sectional survey of professional chaplains. Electronic surveys were sent to members of four professional chaplaincy organizations between February and April 2015. Primary measures of interest included Professional Distress, Distress from Theodicy, Informal Self-care, Formal Self-care, and debriefing practices.
More than 60% of chaplains working in palliative care reported feeling worn out in the past 3 months because of their work as a helper; at least 33% practice Informal Self-care weekly. Bivariate analysis suggested significant associations between Informal Self-care and both Professional Distress and Distress from Theodicy. Multivariate analysis also identified that distress decreased as Informal and Formal Self-care increased.
Chaplains working in palliative care appear moderately distressed, possibly more so than chaplains working in other clinical areas. These chaplains also use debriefing, with non-chaplain palliative colleagues, to process clinical experiences. Further research is needed about the role of religious or spiritual beliefs and practices in protecting against stress associated with care for people at the end of life.
自研究表明职业倦怠和困扰会对护理质量产生负面影响以来，姑息治疗专业人员的倦怠和困扰问题一直备受关注。尽管研究有限，但有研究表明医疗保健牧师的倦怠或困扰程度较低；然而，在姑息治疗等特定临床环境中工作的牧师的研究却没有。
本研究探讨了在姑息治疗中工作的牧师的困扰、自我保健和反思实践。
对专业牧师进行探索性、横断面调查。2015 年 2 月至 4 月期间，向四个专业牧师组织的成员发送了电子调查。主要关注的测量指标包括职业困扰、神学困扰、非正式自我保健、正式自我保健和反思实践。
超过 60%的在姑息治疗中工作的牧师表示，由于他们作为帮助者的工作，在过去 3 个月中感到疲惫不堪；至少有 33%的人每周进行非正式自我保健。单变量分析表明，非正式自我保健与职业困扰和神学困扰之间存在显著关联。多变量分析还表明，随着非正式和正式自我保健的增加，困扰程度降低。
在姑息治疗中工作的牧师似乎感到相当困扰，可能比在其他临床领域工作的牧师更困扰。这些牧师还使用反思，与非牧师姑息治疗同事一起，处理临床经验。需要进一步研究宗教或精神信仰和实践在保护与临终关怀相关的压力方面的作用。
