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Long-term Care Residents' Views About the Contributions of Christian-based Volunteers in Taiwan: A Pilot Study

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Abstract

This pilot study explored the view from six long-term care residents on the contributions of religious volunteers. The findings suggest that religious volunteers may contribute to long-term care residents’ religious or spiritual health more than non-religious volunteers. However, since religious volunteers lack professional training and competence to attend to patients’ religious needs, they may not afford in-depth spiritual and religious services. Under certain conditions when qualified chaplains are not available, inadequate religious services performed by religious volunteers are still better than no such care at all. However, in order to provide this important aspect of holistic care, we propose that health care policy makers should pay more attention to this topic.

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Notes

  1. World Health Organization Pastoral Intervention Codings (2002)

    The World Health Organization categorized the pastoral care services into four main categories (WHO-PI Codings). The definition of the four main categories is as follows.

    1. 1.

      Pastoral assessment (ICD code 96186-00)—an appraisal of the spiritual wellbeing, needs and resources of a person within the context of a pastoral encounter.

    2. 2.

      Pastoral ministry (ICD code 96187-00)—the provision of the primary expression of the service, which may include: establishing the relationship (engagement with the person, hearing the story, and the enabling of pastoral conversation in which spiritual wellbeing and healing may be nurtured, and companioning persons confronted with profound human questions of death and dying, loss, meaning, and aloneness, may be accomplished.

    3. 3.

      Pastoral counseling or education (ICD code 96087-00)—an expression of pastoral care that includes personal or familial counseling, ethical consultation, facilitative review of a person’s spiritual journey, and support in matters of religions belief or practice. The intervention expresses a level of service that may include counseling and catechesis, for example, and the following elements may be identified: “emotional/spiritual counseling”, “ethical consultation”, “religious counseling/catechesis”. “spiritual review”, “death and dying”.

    4. 4.

      Pastoral ritual/worship (ICD code 96109-01)—this intervention contains the pastoral expressions of informal prayer and ritual for individuals or small groups, and the public and more formal expressions of worship, including Eucharist and other services, for faith communities and others. Elements of this intervention may include: (a) “private prayer and devotion”, bedside “Communion” and “Anointing” services, “Blessing and Naming” services for the stillborn and miscarried, and other “sacrament” and ritual expressions; (b) “public ministry”—“Eucharist/Ministry of the Word”, funerals, memorials, seasonal and occasional services.

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  1. College of Humanities and Management, Fooyin University, 151, Chinhsueh Rd., Ta-liao, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.

    Yi-Jung Liu

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Liu, YJ. Long-term Care Residents' Views About the Contributions of Christian-based Volunteers in Taiwan: A Pilot Study. J Relig Health 51, 709–722 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9339-6

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