Chaplaincy research: its value, its quality, and its future

The article is divided into four major sections, the first of which presents and discusses various reasons given by major researchers in the field why chaplains should do research. The second section summarizes findings on the sophistication of research on religion and health published in (a) medical and other healthcare journals, and (b) specialty journals on religion and health, chaplaincy, and pastoral care and counseling. The third section revisits suggestions that have been made by prominent chaplain researchers to increase and improve research by chaplains. The last section offers some suggestions for expanding several lines of current research in the future, including research: (1) to elucidate the nature of spiritual care chaplains provide to different populations, including patients, families and staff; (2) to assess the prevalence and intensity of patients' spiritual needs and the degree to which they are being met; (3) to identify that subset of patients who are spiritually at risk in terms of having high needs and slow religious resources; (4) to identify the biological causal mechanisms by which religion influences health; and (5) to measure the effectiveness of chaplain interventions.