Professional paper
Spiritual care in healthcare from the perspective of a healthcare professional
Rok Čivljak
orcid.org/0000-0001-8766-7438
; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
During illness, a person’s physical and mental health, as well as spiritual health, suffer. Therefore, facing illness and death represents a great challenge for patients and their family members, as well as for healthcare professionals. Physicians are called to care for physical and mental health, while spiritual health is the domain of spiritual caregivers. Thus, spiritual care should be an essential component of healthcare, as addressing the spiritual and religious needs of patients has a positive impact on healthcare outcomes. A spiritual caregiver is not necessarily a priest; he/she can also be a layperson acting in a spiritual capacity, and in some exceptional circumstances, even a healthcare professional himself although he does not necessarily have to share the same worldview and religious beliefs as the patient. To implement spiritual care in the healthcare system, it is essential to define the education, qualifications, and competencies of spiritual caregivers within the Croatian educational system. Hospital chaplains and spiritual caregivers have the opportunity to contribute to the future development of both spiritual and health care in healthcare institutions. However, the role of spiritual caregivers has not yet been widely accepted or realized, even though it is well-defined and scientifically supported in the evidence-based literature. Healthcare professionals need to have a clearer understanding of the role of spiritual caregivers and the necessity of their presence in healthcare institutions, while spiritual caregivers must recognize the importance of their competent integration into healthcare to be acknowledged by the system as an integral part of the interdisciplinary team that provides integrated care to patients and their family members, as well as healthcare professionals.
Keywords
patient; hospital chaplain; spiritual caregiver; spiritual care; priest, healthcare professionals
Hrčak ID:
337308
URI
Publication date:
30.10.2025.
Visits: 607 *