Lost in Translation: Spiritual Assessment and the Religious Tradition
An increase in social science research in medicine and chaplaincy has led chaplains to use spiritual assessment tools. The tools, originally intended to justify the profession of chaplaincy as hospitals face tighter funding, may now be used in an attempt to assess the spiritual state of patients. Th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2013
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2013, Volume: 19, Issue: 3, Pages: 282-298 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | An increase in social science research in medicine and chaplaincy has led chaplains to use spiritual assessment tools. The tools, originally intended to justify the profession of chaplaincy as hospitals face tighter funding, may now be used in an attempt to assess the spiritual state of patients. This article centers on three tools in particular: the Brief Religious Coping Inventory, Index of Core Spiritual Experience, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well Being Scale. Upon close examination of the items in the tools, I argue that they constrict the spirituality of patients to the narrow lens of the tool. The tools are psychological measures and are not suitable for spiritual care for patients of faith traditions like Roman Catholicism, for they do not do justice to the Catholic theological and nonpsychological understanding of illness, suffering, and sin. I conclude that these tools should not be used in clinical practice or in research that is intended to influence practice, not only because they cannot accomplish their alleged goal of assessing spirituality but also because of what is lost in the use of these tools: traditional chaplaincy care and robust theologies that mean more than ever to patients as they confront illness and death. |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbt029 |