Location
Virtual Conference
Start Date
24-6-2022 4:00 PM
End Date
24-6-2022 5:10 PM
Keywords:
texas; covenant; montana; missoula; sph; washington; spokane; alaska
Description
Background:
Hospital chaplains are trained to provide spiritual support to inpatients, family members, and support persons across the continuum of care. Patients receiving a chaplain visit during their hospital stay report higher satisfaction, quality of life, and spiritual well-being. Chaplain consultation during hospitalization is related to higher rates of hospice enrollment and lower rates of in-hospital deaths. Additionally, evidence suggests nurses who are employed in hospitals with staff chaplains report lower stress and compassion fatigue based on frequency of interactions with chaplains during worked shifts. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital nurses providing front-line care report higher stress levels compared to before the pandemic, yet relationships between the perceived importance of having access to a chaplain in the hospital and stress levels among acute care nurses working over two years during a pandemic are unclear.
Purpose:
To measure differences in nurse-reported stress and perceived importance of access to chaplains two years into a pandemic across a large health system in the United States.
Methods:
Nurses from seven states completed a survey during the time period February 2022 through April 2022. Survey items included demographics (role, years in the role, specialty), perceived access to a chaplain, self-reported importance of chaplain presence, and stress using the Perceived Stress Scale Short Form (PSS-4). Scores to the PSS-4 range from 0-16 with higher numbers representing higher stress. Analyses focused on responses to the chaplain presence questions, with participant responses of either “no” or I don’t know to whether a chaplain is present in their hospital and a response of “strongly disagree” to “slightly agree” to perceived importance of chaplain presence recoded as “not favorable”. Nurses who responded “yes” to the chaplain presence question and “strongly agree” or “moderately agree” to the perceived importance of a chaplain were recoded as “favorable”. Descriptive statistics were obtained, and a two-tailed independent samples t-test detected differences in PSS-4 scores in the two groups created by recoding the question about importance of chaplain presence. All statistics were conducted in Excel with p ≤ .05 considered statistically significant.
Results:
Data from 845 Registered Nurses were analyzed for this project. Of these, 75% (n=637) represent direct patient caregivers and 69% (n=583) nurses working in a non-critical care specialty. In total, nurses who strongly or moderately agreed that chaplain presence in the hospital (n=544) is important reported significantly less stress (m=5.67) versus those reporting less favorable agreement (n=306; 36.3% not sure about chaplain presence in hospital) regarding chaplain importance (m=6.69, t=-4.14, p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Findings suggest a relationship exists between nurse-perceived importance of access to chaplains and nurse stress levels. Future research is needed to establish generalizable relationships between nursing perceptions of chaplain importance in the hospital setting and nurse stress levels over time.
Implications for practice:
Chaplains may be perceived as a valued resource for nurses, especially during times of heightened stress such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Chaplains provide spiritual support to patients, family members, and caregivers which may impact stress levels among nursing staff who perceive the role as important.
References:
Cho, H., & Steege, L. M. (2021). Nurse Fatigue and Nurse, Patient Safety, and Organizational Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 0193945921990892.
Clark, P. A., Drain, M., & Malone, M. P. (2003). Addressing patients’ emotional and spiritual needs. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety, 29(12), 659–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1549-3741(03)29078-X
Flannelly, K. J., Emanuel, L. L., Handzo, G. F., Galek, K., Silton, N. R., & Carlson, M. (2012). A national study of chaplaincy services and end-of-life outcomes. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-684X-11-10
Liberman, T., Kozikowski, A., Carney, M., Kline, M., Axelrud, A., Ofer, A., Rossetti, M., & Pekmezaris, R. (2020). Knowledge, Attitudes, and Interactions with Chaplains and Nursing Staff Outcomes: A Survey Study. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(5), 2308–2322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01037-0
Sagherian, K., Steege, L. M., Cobb, S. J., & Cho, H. (2020). Insomnia, fatigue and psychosocial well‐being during COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional survey of hospital nursing staff in the United States. Journal of clinical nursing.
© Stamm, B. (2009). Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Version 5 (ProQOL). /www.isu.edu/~bhstamm or www.proqol.org. This test may be freely copied as long as (a) author is credited, (b) no changes are made, and (c) it is not sold.
Taylor, J. J., Hodgson, J. L., Kolobova, I., Lamson, A. L., Sira, N., & Musick, D. (2015). Exploring the Phenomenon of Spiritual Care Between Hospital Chaplains and Hospital Based Healthcare Providers. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 21(3), 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2015.1015302
Weiner, S. (2017, November 20). Is There a Chaplain in the House? Hospitals Integrate Spiritual Care. Association of American Medical Colleges. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/there-chaplain-house-hospitals-integrate-spiritual-care.
Williams, J. A., Meltzer, D., Arora, V., Chung, G., & Curlin, F. A. (2011). Attention to inpatients’ religious and spiritual concerns: Predictors and association with patient satisfaction. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26(11), 1265–1271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1781-y
Kirchoff, R. W., Tata, B., McHugh, J., Kingsley, T., Burton, M. C., Manning, D., ... & Chaudhary, R. (2021). Spiritual care of inpatients focusing on outcomes and the role of chaplaincy services: A systematic review. Journal of religion and health, 60(2), 1406-1422.
Recommended Citation
Bigand, Teresa; Gaines, Adam; Doucette, Sheila; Stengem, Danell; Freedberg, Rachel; Roney, Jamie; and Timmerman, Rosemary, "Podium Presentation: Relationships between Nursing Stress and Perceived Importance of Access to Chaplains During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2022). 2022 Providence Nurse Research Conference. 6.
https://digitalcommons.providence.org/prov_rn_conf_22/2022/day1/6
Podium Presentation: Relationships between Nursing Stress and Perceived Importance of Access to Chaplains During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Virtual Conference
Background:
Hospital chaplains are trained to provide spiritual support to inpatients, family members, and support persons across the continuum of care. Patients receiving a chaplain visit during their hospital stay report higher satisfaction, quality of life, and spiritual well-being. Chaplain consultation during hospitalization is related to higher rates of hospice enrollment and lower rates of in-hospital deaths. Additionally, evidence suggests nurses who are employed in hospitals with staff chaplains report lower stress and compassion fatigue based on frequency of interactions with chaplains during worked shifts. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital nurses providing front-line care report higher stress levels compared to before the pandemic, yet relationships between the perceived importance of having access to a chaplain in the hospital and stress levels among acute care nurses working over two years during a pandemic are unclear.
Purpose:
To measure differences in nurse-reported stress and perceived importance of access to chaplains two years into a pandemic across a large health system in the United States.
Methods:
Nurses from seven states completed a survey during the time period February 2022 through April 2022. Survey items included demographics (role, years in the role, specialty), perceived access to a chaplain, self-reported importance of chaplain presence, and stress using the Perceived Stress Scale Short Form (PSS-4). Scores to the PSS-4 range from 0-16 with higher numbers representing higher stress. Analyses focused on responses to the chaplain presence questions, with participant responses of either “no” or I don’t know to whether a chaplain is present in their hospital and a response of “strongly disagree” to “slightly agree” to perceived importance of chaplain presence recoded as “not favorable”. Nurses who responded “yes” to the chaplain presence question and “strongly agree” or “moderately agree” to the perceived importance of a chaplain were recoded as “favorable”. Descriptive statistics were obtained, and a two-tailed independent samples t-test detected differences in PSS-4 scores in the two groups created by recoding the question about importance of chaplain presence. All statistics were conducted in Excel with p ≤ .05 considered statistically significant.
Results:
Data from 845 Registered Nurses were analyzed for this project. Of these, 75% (n=637) represent direct patient caregivers and 69% (n=583) nurses working in a non-critical care specialty. In total, nurses who strongly or moderately agreed that chaplain presence in the hospital (n=544) is important reported significantly less stress (m=5.67) versus those reporting less favorable agreement (n=306; 36.3% not sure about chaplain presence in hospital) regarding chaplain importance (m=6.69, t=-4.14, p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Findings suggest a relationship exists between nurse-perceived importance of access to chaplains and nurse stress levels. Future research is needed to establish generalizable relationships between nursing perceptions of chaplain importance in the hospital setting and nurse stress levels over time.
Implications for practice:
Chaplains may be perceived as a valued resource for nurses, especially during times of heightened stress such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Chaplains provide spiritual support to patients, family members, and caregivers which may impact stress levels among nursing staff who perceive the role as important.
References:
Cho, H., & Steege, L. M. (2021). Nurse Fatigue and Nurse, Patient Safety, and Organizational Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 0193945921990892.
Clark, P. A., Drain, M., & Malone, M. P. (2003). Addressing patients’ emotional and spiritual needs. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety, 29(12), 659–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1549-3741(03)29078-X
Flannelly, K. J., Emanuel, L. L., Handzo, G. F., Galek, K., Silton, N. R., & Carlson, M. (2012). A national study of chaplaincy services and end-of-life outcomes. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-684X-11-10
Liberman, T., Kozikowski, A., Carney, M., Kline, M., Axelrud, A., Ofer, A., Rossetti, M., & Pekmezaris, R. (2020). Knowledge, Attitudes, and Interactions with Chaplains and Nursing Staff Outcomes: A Survey Study. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(5), 2308–2322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01037-0
Sagherian, K., Steege, L. M., Cobb, S. J., & Cho, H. (2020). Insomnia, fatigue and psychosocial well‐being during COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional survey of hospital nursing staff in the United States. Journal of clinical nursing.
© Stamm, B. (2009). Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Version 5 (ProQOL). /www.isu.edu/~bhstamm or www.proqol.org. This test may be freely copied as long as (a) author is credited, (b) no changes are made, and (c) it is not sold.
Taylor, J. J., Hodgson, J. L., Kolobova, I., Lamson, A. L., Sira, N., & Musick, D. (2015). Exploring the Phenomenon of Spiritual Care Between Hospital Chaplains and Hospital Based Healthcare Providers. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 21(3), 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2015.1015302
Weiner, S. (2017, November 20). Is There a Chaplain in the House? Hospitals Integrate Spiritual Care. Association of American Medical Colleges. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/there-chaplain-house-hospitals-integrate-spiritual-care.
Williams, J. A., Meltzer, D., Arora, V., Chung, G., & Curlin, F. A. (2011). Attention to inpatients’ religious and spiritual concerns: Predictors and association with patient satisfaction. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26(11), 1265–1271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1781-y
Kirchoff, R. W., Tata, B., McHugh, J., Kingsley, T., Burton, M. C., Manning, D., ... & Chaudhary, R. (2021). Spiritual care of inpatients focusing on outcomes and the role of chaplaincy services: A systematic review. Journal of religion and health, 60(2), 1406-1422.
