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Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy· 2026Q1

Unraveling impact and processes in healthcare chaplaincy. A quasi-experimental study in Belgium

Eva Buelens, Jessie Dezutter, Annemie Dillen

Short summary

Hospital chaplaincy care significantly improved patients' Positive Religious Coping (PRC) by follow-up compared to a control group, according to a quasi-experimental study in Belgium.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Key points

  • Hospital chaplaincy care led to significant improvements in patients' Positive Religious Coping (PRC) at follow-up.
  • The study compared patients who met with a chaplain to a control group who did not receive chaplaincy care.
  • Improvements were observed in internal processes such as acceptance, positive reappraisal, and hope.
  • The research was conducted in Belgium using a quasi-experimental design and multilevel analysis.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Abstract

This article reflects on the complexity of evaluating impact of chaplaincy and suggest unraveling processes and outcomes of healthcare chaplaincy. Our quasi-experimental study in Belgium aims to gain insight into the impact of hospital chaplaincy on inpatients’ internal processes (acceptance, positive reappraisal, hope and within a religious subgroup also Positive Religious Coping (PRC) and Negative Religious Coping (NRC)). A group of patients who met with a hospital chaplain at least once was compared to a group who either did not request a chaplain or were not referred to one. A multilevel analysis shows significant PRC improvement at follow-up for the chaplaincy care group in comparison to the comparison group. The study underscores the need for more process–outcome research in chaplaincy, using a variety of research designs.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 2026 · DOI ↗

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Field: Health

HealthSocial Sciences