RELIGION AND BELIEF
MATTER
AN INFORMATION RESOURCE
FOR HEALTHCARE STAFF
Geoff Lachlan,
Fair For All Religion & Belief Project,
Scottish Inter Faith Council
THE GODFACTOR IN
HEALTHCARE
Fair for All Religion and Belief Project
• Scottish Inter Faith Council
• Scottish Government Health Directorates
• Healthcare Chaplaincy Training and
Development Unit
BACKGROUND
•
•
•
•
HDL (2002) 76 Spiritual Care in NHS
WHO Definition of “Health”
New Religious Legislation
The ‘need’ for FFA Religion ‘Guidance’
Methodology
• Visit to all 14 territorial Health Boards
– Lead Chaplains
– Equality/Diversity Officers
• 13 Faith / Belief Focus Groups
• Literature search for evidence base
Aims of Project
1. To review the context for responding to
religious and belief needs
2. To review the evidence base for
supporting Healthcare Chaplaincy
What is the Context?
Christian
Muslim
Buddhist
Sikh
Jewish
Hindu
Others
No Religion
Not answered
64%
3,294,600
0.84%
42,000
0.13%
6,800
0.13%
6,600
0.13%
6,400
0.11%
5,600
0.53%
27,000
27.5% 1,394,500
6.5%
“RELIGION IN BRITAIN SINCE
1945,”
Grace Davie (1994)
• “Believing without belonging………..”
Christian Roots, Contemporary Society,
Lynda Barley, 2006
•
•
•
•
55% believe in a ‘patterning’ to life
67% believe in a Supernatural Force
69% believe in a Soul
76% admit to a ‘Religious/Spiritual’
experience
New Trends in Religions Data
• % Attending church regularly now
increased for first time since 1950s……….
..........nearly all due to Catholic East
European migration.
New Legislation
• Employment Equality (Religion/Belief)
Regulations 2003
• Equality Act (Part 2) 2006
Religion / Belief is Different
to Other Equalities
• Not so legislation- driven
• Chosen, unlike age, disability, gender,
ethnicity, sex orientation
• Spiritual Care Providers are part of the
M/D Health Team
What are Religious Needs?
• Most people are not Religious
• All people are Spiritual in some way
How are Religious
Needs Responded To?
• Take account of/respect beliefs, rituals,
practices, etc. appropriate
• Ensure NHS does not at any stage
compromise or discriminate
• Where possible, ensure availability of
Faith community reps. for religious care
Why Respond to
Religious Needs?
• The Moral Case
• The Legal Case
• The Business Case, esp. Medical aspects
What is the Link Between
Religion and Health?
Just responsible members
of a ‘caring club’……?
…or is it
Psycho-Neuro-Immunology…..?
The study of how psycho-social factors
that affect our state of wellbeing can
influence the body’s immune system
through neuroendocrine pathways (nerve
connections that regulate hormones)
How Stress Gets Under Your Skin;
Psychobiological Studies of
Social Status, Stress, and Health
“Social networks, etc. that boost
self-esteem are protective
against the effects of stress.”
Stress is a Normal
Physiological Response
Chronic Stress is not!!
Of Molecules and Mind; Stress,
the Individual and the
Social Environment
“Chronic stress can produce changes to
cellular structure of brain; can be reversed
by relieving the stress”
What is the Evidence Base for
Responding to Religious Needs?
• Harold Koenig, 2001, 1200 studies,
“Religion and Health,” 1900-2000
“There is Evidence that
Something About Religion can
Provide Health Benefits”
Basak Coruh, 2005, “Does religious
Activity Improve Clinical Outcomes? A
Ciritcal Review of the Recent Literature”,
The Journal of Science and Healing, Vol 1,
3, 186-191
“A Consensus is Emerging in the
Literature that Evidence Exists
to Support the Provision of
Spiritual Care in the Healthcare
Setting”
Peter Speck, 2005, The Evidence Base for
Spiritual Care, Nursing Management,
Vol 12, 6, 28-31
“Spirituality Involves a
Dimension of Human Experience
that Psychiatrists are
Increasingly Interested in
Because of its Potential Benefits
to Mental Health.”
Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Special
Interest Group, Spirituality and Mental
Health, 1999
“Such Evidence as We Have is
Strongly Suggestive of Positive
Links Between
Religion/Spirituality and
Personal Wellbeing…
Sandra Carlisle, 2006, University of
Glasgow Centre for Population and Health
“… Spiritual Awareness is to be
Encouraged Because of the
Benefits it can Bring to the
Human Experience, Including
Disease in Our Society Today”
“Absence of Evidence Does not
Necessarily Mean Evidence of
Absence”
Harriet Mowat, 2007, The Potential for the
Efficacy of Healthcare Chaplaincy –
Spiritual Care in UK: A Scoping Study
Summary of Findings
• There is a theoretical basis linking
Religion/Spirituality and Health
• In practice, the link appears to be a positive one
• The R.C. Psychiatrists are supporting this link
• NICE including Spiritual Care in its Palliative
Care guidelines
• Responding to Religious needs should support
Spiritual needs……
• ……which will provide true HOLISTIC care
13 Faith / Belief Focus Groups
“From a religious/humanist point of view,
what was important for you when admitted
to hospital?”
What are the Challenges?
• Responding to religious needs as Generic
Chaplaincy
• East European arrivals
• Narrow interpretation of Data Protection
Act
• Increasing out-of-hours work
What are the Challenges?
• Increasing demands of Pastoral care for
staff
• Ongoing lack of clarity about
Religion/Spirituality
• Staff enthusiastic for training – how?
• Lack of consistent data collection
Conclusions
• You are a vital part of the M/D Healthcare
Team…..
• ……and thus must become AHPs
• You have a large role in Pastoral care of
the staff
• You need more practical research for your
evidence base