Person-centred care zone

The research network was formed in 2019 following an introductory course in research methodology which was aimed primarily at spiritual care staff across Scotland. The aim of the network is to help establish a research culture within spiritual care and chaplaincy, providing a strong evidence base for the profession. It also provides continuing support and encouragement for those working in the field, to maintain their interest and involvement in research.  The network has met on-line four times since its inception, enabling the sharing of ideas and experience and is holding its first face-to-face meeting in June 2023.

From this engagement four positive outcomes have already emerged:

• Individuals in the group have benefitted from peer support.
• An interest has arisen in being part of a newly extended UK-wide journal club, encouraging chaplains and others engaged in spiritual care, to explore research in the field, through the reading and discussing of peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Contact has been established with a chaplaincy research group based in the United States, leading to the invitation to present a series of webinars showcasing some of the ground-breaking work in spiritual care, taking place across NHSScotland.
• NES recently commissioned an important piece of research into the support offered to NHS staff by spiritual care teams across Scotland, undertaken by a group from within the research network, thus providing a significant learning and coaching experience for young researchers

European Research Institute for Chaplains in Healthcare (ERICH)

ERICH is part of the KU Leuven, Belgium and is hosted by the Academic Centre for Practical Theology (ACPT).
ERICH works closely with the European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy (ENHCC).

ERICH was founded to promote research by chaplains into chaplaincy practice and in doing so to encourage reflection on its theoretical underpinning.  ERICH seeks to support such research through education and mentoring with the aim of enhancing spiritual care for patients, their loved ones and health care staff.

ERICH seeks

• To initiate research to inform the best possible spiritual care by healthcare chaplains for patients, their loved ones and staff
• To promote the importance of research in spiritual care by health care chaplains
• To provide education, resources and mentorship for healthcare chaplains interested in spiritual care research
• To seek collaboration and dialogue with research orientated institutions and individuals globally
• To translate, publish and disseminate existing research in spiritual care by chaplain

ERICH is a resource established to promote healthcare chaplaincy research within a European context which, in its short lifespan, has already benefitted from the generosity and goodwill of chaplaincy researchers, academics and practitioners from a variety of healthcare disciplines, and the institutions and bodies they are affiliated with globally.  ERICH has emerged from and belongs to European chaplains through the auspices of the European Network of Healthcare Chaplains.  Its aim is not just to benefit healthcare chaplaincy – its profile, practice and evidence base – but critically to enhance the spiritual wellbeing of the people chaplains work with.

Article about the birth of ERICH –

Ewan, K. & Vandenhoeck A. (2017). The Birth of a European Research Institute for Chaplains in Healthcare (ERICH): Initiated by Chaplains for the Promotion of Research by Chaplains, Health and Social Care Chaplaincy 5 (2), 297-305.

European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy

European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy (ENHCC).

The European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy was founded in November 2000.   It consists of representatives from Churches, Faiths and National Associations.  The Network holds Consultations every two years in different countries.  Representatives meet together to discuss matters of common interest and current research in Spiritual Care.

Click here to jump to the most recent issue of the UK Chaplains’ Research Digest

Research Digests:

Aimed at helping colleagues build their research literacy, the quarterly digest highlights research papers from the four main journals relevant to chaplaincy and spiritual care research: Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, Journal of Pastoral Care and Counselling and Journal of Health and Religion. Additionally, the Digest also includes short introductory articles, book reviews and interviews with chaplain-researchers.

• Autumn 2022 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF) LATEST ISSUE
• Summer 2022 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF)
• Spring 2022 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF)
• Winter 2021 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF)
• Autumn 2021 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF)
• Summer 2021 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF)
• Spring 2021 issue of UK Chaplains’ Research Digest (PDF)

The journals, ‘Health and Social Care Chaplaincy’  https://journal.equinoxpub.com/HSCC/ and ‘Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy’  https://www.professionalchaplains.org/content.asp?pl=104&sl=108&contentid=108 are excellent sources of up-to-date spiritual care research.

Here is a list, with some links to articles and book titles, which illustrate the breadth of recent research interests.

Charting Spiritual Care: The Emerging Role of Chaplaincy Records in Global Health Care, Simon Peng-Keller and David Neuhold Editors,

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-47070-8

Keys to Knowledge: Searching and Reviewing the Literature Relevant to Chaplaincy Kevin J. Flannelly, Katherine R. B. Jankowski, Helen P. Tannenbaum

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10999183.2011.10767418

What Did Chaplains Do During the Covid Pandemic? An International Survey Austyn Snowden

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1542305021992039

Chaplaincy and the Soul of Health and Social Care, Editors John Swinton and Ewan Kelly, chapter 13 on The Scottish PROM

https://uk.jkp.com/products/chaplaincy-and-the-soul-of-health-and-social-care

Snowden, A., Fitchett, G., Grossoehme, D. H., Handzo, G., Kelly, E., King, S. D. W., … Flannelly, K. J. (2017). An International Study of Chaplains’ Attitudes about Research. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2016.1250556

Snowden, A., Gibbon, A., & Grant, R. (2019). What is the impact of Chaplaincy in Primary Care? The GP perspective. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, in press. Retrieved from https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/HSCC/article/view/34709

Swinton, J. (2013). A question of identity: What does it mean for chaplains to become healthcare professionals? Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy, 6(2), 2–8.