ArticleJournal of pain and symptom management2015
"The Patient Is Dying, Please Call the Chaplain": The Activities of Chaplains in One Medical Center's Intensive Care Units.
Article in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Spiritual Care of Inpatients Focusing on Outcomes and the Role of Chaplaincy Services: A Systematic Review.Journal of religion and health · 2021Pooled it
- The Family Perspectives Project: development and preliminary feasibility of a chaplain-delivered emotional support intervention for families of critically ill patients.Journal of health care chaplaincy · 2026Article
- Chaplains' Charting in the USA in the Era of "Open Notes:" Recommendations from a Quality Improvement Project.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Specialist palliative care in different intensive care unit populations: a retrospective longitudinal study.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Improving Outcomes for ICU Family Members: The Role of Spiritual Care.Journal of palliative medicine · 2025Review
- A Descriptive Qualitative Study of Religion and Spirituality's Role in Critical Illness Decision-Making Among Black and White Family Caregivers.CHEST critical care · 2025Article
- Spiritual care in the intensive care unit. Is it already a reality?: an integrative review.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Review
- Religious Characteristics of Nurses Who Refer Patients to Chaplains at a Catholic Hospital in the Northwestern USA.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
- "Why me?": Qualitative research on why patients ask, what they mean, how they answer and what factors and processes are involved.SSM. Mental health · 2023Article
- Examining Factors Associated with Utilization of Chaplains in the Acute Care Setting.Journal of religion and health · 2022Article
- Doctor, Will You Pray for Me? Responding to Patients' Religious and Spiritual Concerns.Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges · 2021Article
- Training Chaplains to Provide Communication-Board-Guided Spiritual Care for Intensive Care Unit Patients.Journal of palliative medicine · 2021Article
- Spiritual care in the intensive care unit.Anaesthesiology intensive therapy · 2021Review
- Chaplain Care in the Intensive Care Unit at the End of Life: A Qualitative Analysis.Palliative medicine reports · 2021Article
- Medical Students' Experience in a Trauma Chaplain Shadowing Program: A Mixed Method Analysis.Medical education online · 2020Article
- Staff Perceptions of Chaplains in a Neurosciences Critical Care Unit.Journal of religion and health · 2019Article
- The Role of the Chaplain as a Patient Navigator and Advocate for Patients in the Intensive Care Unit: One Academic Medical Center's Experience.Journal of religion and health · 2019Article
- Differential methylation in rare ophthalmic disorders: a systematic review protocol.Systematic reviews · 2019Article
- Spiritual aspects of care for chronic Muslim patients: A qualitative study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2018Article
- Religious leaders' perceptions of advance care planning: a secondary analysis of interviews with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Bahá'í leaders.BMC palliative care · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
contextPatients and families commonly experience spiritual stress during an intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Although most patients report that they want spiritual support, little is known about how these issues are addressed by hospital chaplains.
objectivesTo describe the prevalence, timing, and nature of hospital chaplain encounters in ICUs.
methodsThis was a retrospective cross-sectional study of adult ICUs at an academic medical center. Measures included days from ICU admission to initial chaplain visit, days from chaplain visit to ICU death or discharge, hospital and ICU lengths of stay, severity of illness at ICU admission and chaplain visit, and chart documentation of chaplain communication with the ICU team.
resultsOf a total of 4169 ICU admissions over six months, 248 (5.9%) patients were seen by chaplains. Of the 246 patients who died in an ICU, 197 (80%) were seen by a chaplain. There was a median of two days from ICU admission to chaplain encounter and a median of one day from chaplain encounter to ICU discharge or death. Chaplains communicated with nurses after 141 encounters (56.9%) but with physicians after only 14 encounters (5.6%); there was no documented communication in 55 encounters (22%).
conclusionIn the ICUs at this tertiary medical center, chaplain visits are uncommon and generally occur just before death among ICU patients. Communication between chaplains and physicians is rare. Chaplaincy service is primarily reserved for dying patients and their family members rather than providing proactive spiritual support. These observations highlight the need to better understand challenges and barriers to optimal chaplain involvement in ICU patient care.
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