"Essential Not Optional": Spiritual Care in Australia during a Pandemic.

Heather Tan,Eleanor Flynn,Leila Karimi,Cheryl Holmes

doi:10.1177/1542305020985071

Heather Tan, Eleanor Flynn + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1542305020985071

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Abstract

This paper focuses on the impact of COVID19 in Australia. Three areas were investigated: professionalism, contrasting hospital and aged care services and “business as usual”? Impact was low overall, the timing being pre-second wave impact. Two areas of weakness were highlighted: depleted spiritual care teams due to standing down non-professional staff and uncertainty about the role of Chaplains in the care of other staff. Further study of second wave impact is recommended.

Highlights

In Australia, as in many locations world-wide, the need to commit to the provision of spiritual care as an integral part of the healthcare system, has been a focus for some time (Ferrell et al, 2020; Puchalski et al, 2014)
There has been some early investigation into the impact of COVID19 on the provision of spiritual care in the health systems within Australia such as (Drummond & Carey, 2020) which presents an aged care case study
Three themes emerged: the extent to which spiritual care practitioners/chaplains were regarded as professionals in the health care system; differences in the responses of Aged Care Services compared to main-stream hospitals and the degree to which the impact of COVID19 resulted in a change of practice rather than business as usual

Summary

Introduction

In Australia, as in many locations world-wide, the need to commit to the provision of spiritual care as an integral part of the healthcare system, has been a focus for some time (Ferrell et al, 2020; Puchalski et al, 2014). The spreading of the COVID19 virus across the continents was delayed in Australia compared to Europe and North America, the chance to take part in this world-wide survey, investigating the impact of this virus on spiritual care practice, was a very important opportunity.. There has been some early investigation into the impact of COVID19 on the provision of spiritual care in the health systems within Australia such as (Drummond & Carey, 2020) which presents an aged care case study. In this paper the areas of professionalism within the spiritual care sector of health care, the offering of spiritual care in the aged care sector compared to hospitals and the degree to which the impact of COVID19 could be seen as an opportunity to bring permanent change to the provision of spiritual care. It should be noted that the terms spiritual care, pastoral care and chaplaincy are used somewhat interchangeably in the Australian setting

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