Promoting Research Literacy for Improved Patient Outcomes

How Satisfied are Patients with the Ministry of Chaplains?

How Satisfied are Patients with the Ministry of Chaplains?

The author describes the importance of chaplaincy departments conducting periodic patient satisfaction studies and provides quantitative results from 1440 patients discharged from one of 14 U.S. general hospitals. Patients expressed the most satisfaction in response to the item, “The chaplain seemed to be a person of spiritual sensitivity.” The results also suggest the characteristics of patients who appear most responsive to this ministry.