Top

Published in:

01-04-2015 | Original Paper

Religion, Health and Confidentiality: An Exploratory Review of the Role of Chaplains

Authors: Lindsay B. Carey, Mark A. Willis, Lillian Krikheli, Annette O’Brien

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 2/2015

Abstract

Chaplaincy has traditionally been considered a profession highly respectful of confidentiality. Nevertheless, given increasing professional collaboration within health and welfare contexts, plus the requirements of intervention reporting and the ease of technological data sharing, it is possible that confidentiality may be sacrificed for the sake of expediency. This exploratory review considers the literature relating to the role of chaplaincy and confidentiality that suggests a number of principles which should be considered by chaplaincy associations/organizations to ensure appropriate professional practice and the holistic health and well-being of patients/clients. Recommendations are made for the development of specific policies and procedures, confidentiality training programs and further research for developing universal protocols relating to chaplains and their handling of confidential information.

Traditionally, a confessional is an enclosed booth (most often utilised within Roman Catholic Church, but also some Anglican and Lutheran Churches) which is used for the sacrament of penance, often called confession. The confessional is designed to keep the identity of the confessor anonymous. What is confessed within the confessional is to be held with absolutely confidentiality by clergy.

“Apprise the medical profession”, under Frierson’s (1977) model would be a form of ‘professional confidentiality’ (refer Table 3).

AAPC. (2013). AAPC code of ethics: Principle IV—Confidentiality. Fairfax Virginia: American Association of Pastoral Counsellors, Retrieved: http://www.aapc.org/about-us/code-of-ethics/.

AHPCC. (2005). Code of conduct (2 ed.). UK: Association of Hospital and Palliative Care Chaplains. Retrieved: http://www.ahpcc.org.uk/books/books_codeconduct.htm.

Aiken, C. (2008). Chaplaincy and health care in the ADF: The relationship between body, mind and soul. ADF Health, 9(2), 74–78.

APC (2000) Code of Ethics. Schaumburg, Illinois: Association of Professional Chaplains. Retrieved: http://www.professionalchaplains.org/Files/professional_standards/professional_ethics/apc_code_of_ethics.pdf.

Baldwin, W. (1981). The hospital chaplain’s role—strictly confidential. Nursing Mirror, 153(9), 26–28.PubMed

Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2013). Principles of biomedical ethics (7th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Beder, J., & Yan, G. W. (2013). VHA chaplains: Challenges, roles, rewards and frustrations of the work. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 19(2), 54–65.PubMedCrossRef

Besterman-Dahan, K., Gibbons, S. W., Barnett, S. D., & Hickling, E. J. (2012). The role of military chaplains in mental health care of the deployed service member. Military Medicine, 177(9), 1028–1033.PubMedCrossRef

BMA. (1997). BMA hippocratic oath. London: British Medical Association.

Budd, F. C. (1999). An air force model of psychologist–chaplain collaboration. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30(6), 552–556.CrossRef

Bush, J. E. (2003). Pastoral confidentiality. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 22(4), 67–92.CrossRef

Carey, L. B., & Del Medico, L. (2013). Chaplaincy and mental health care in Aotearoa New Zealand: An exploratory study. Journal of Religion and Health, 52(1), 46–59. doi:10.1007/s10943-012-9622-9.PubMedCrossRef

Carey, L. B., & Willis, M. (2014). Audit into RAAF chaplaincy policy and confidentiality. Canberra: Royal Australian Air Force Chaplaincy Branch.

Carey, L. B., Willis, M., Krikheli, L., & O’Brien, A. (2014). Religion, health and confidentiality: An exploratory review of the role of chaplains. Journal of Religion and Health. doi:10.1007/s10943-014-9931-2.

CASC. (2012). Code of ethics. In Policy and procedure manual (chap. 5). Oakville, ON: Canadian Association for Spiritual Care. http://209.162.178.174/manual.asp?Chapter=205.

Casscells, S. W. (2009). Speech by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to military chaplains. Journal of Religion and Health, 48(1), 58–61. doi:10.1007/s10943-008-9222-x.PubMedCrossRef

CHCC. (2005). Code of conduct. London: College of Health Care Chaplains. http://www.healthcarechaplains.org/index.html.

Cramer, A. A. (1966). Go tell the people? The ethics of pastoral confidentiality, Pastoral Psychology, 17, 31–41.CrossRef

Crittenden, J. W. (1977). Hospital chaplaincy and medical records. Medical Record News, 48(1), 30–36.PubMed

Cronan, P. A. (2013). Ethics insight: Client relations—conflict, confidentiality and comprehensive note taking (vol. 1, pp. 1–4). Canberra: Australian Defence Force Legal Service.

Dunt, D. (2009). Review of mental health care in the ADF and transition through discharge. Canberra: Department of Defence, Australian Defence Force.

Erde, E., Pomerantz, S. C., Saccocci, M., Kramer-Feeley, V., & Cavalieri, T. A. (2006). Privacy and patient–clergy access: Perspectives of patients admitted to hospital. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(7), 398–402.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

Fish, M. G. (1978). Paradox: Confidentiality and member of the team. Bulletin-American Protestant Hospital Association, 42(2), 132–134.PubMed

Friesen, D. D. (1971). Confidentiality and the pastoral counsellor. Pastoral Psychology, 22(1), 48–53.CrossRef

Goldstein, H. R., Marin, D., & Umpierre, M. (2011). Chaplains and access to medical records. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 17(3–4), 162–168.PubMedCrossRef

Handzo, G., Cobb, M., Holmes, C., Kelly, E., & Sinclair, S. (2014). Outcomes for professional health care chaplaincy: An international call to action. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 20(3). doi:10.1080/08854726.08852014.08902713.

HCCF&BG (2014). Health Care Chaplaincy Faith and Belief Group. London: http://hcfbg.org.uk/.

Helm, P. (1985). Confidentiality. In D. J. Atkinson & A. H. Field (Eds.), New dictionary of Christian ethics and pastoral theology. Leicester: Intervarsity Press.

Higgins, G. L. (1989). The history of confidentiality in medicine. Canadian Family Physician, 35(April), 921–926.PubMedCentralPubMed

Howard, M. D., & Cox, R. P. (2007). Family issues in time of war: A chaplain’s perspective. Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy, 31(1), 55–69.

ICHC. (1972). Interchurch Council for Hospital Chaplaincy. Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved http://www.ichc.org.nz.

ICRC. (1949). The Geneva conventions. Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross.

Klink, T. W. (1966a). Documents and reports on privilege and confidentiality. Pastoral Psychology, 17(2), 42–46.CrossRef

Klink, T. W. (1966b). Pastoral confidences: A modern dilemma. Pastoral Psychology, 17(2), 3–8.CrossRef

Loewy, R. S., & Loewy, E. H. (2007). Healthcare and the hospital chaplain. Medscape General Medicine, 9(1), 53–62.PubMedCentralPubMed

McCurdy, D. B. (2012). Chaplains, confidentiality and the chart. Chaplaincy Today, 28(2), 20–30.

NACC. (2007). Code of ethics for spiritual care professionals. In Standards for ethics, certification, renewal of certification Pt II, Section 100 & 200. Milwaukee, WI: National Association of Catholic Chaplains. http://www.nacc.org/docs/certification/NACC%20Standards%20October%202013.pdf.

NAJC. (2003). Code of professional ethics. Whippany, New Jersey: National Association of Jewish Chaplains, http://www.najc.org/about/ethics.

Neels, R. J. (1977). The horizontal perspective: A study of patients’ attitudes towards hospital chaplains. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 85(588), 429–432.PubMed

Neuhauser, J. A. (2011). Lives of quiet desperation: The conflict between military necessity and confidentiality. Creighton Law Review, 44(4), 1003–1044.

Niselle, P. (2005). Can you tell? Should you tell? ADF Health, 6(1), 9–11.

NZPA. (1993). Privacy Act 1993. Wellington: New Zealand Government Parliamentary Counsel Office. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0028/latest/DLM296639.html.

Parkinson, P. (2003). Child sexual abuse and the churches: Understanding the issues (2nd ed.). Sydney: Aquila Press.

Ruff, R. (1996). Leaving footprints: The practice and benefits of hospital chaplains documenting pastoral care activity in patients’ medical records. Journal of Pastoral Care, 50(4), 383.PubMed

SACH. (2012). Code of professional conduct. Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare, http://www.sach.org.uk/code.htm.

SCA. (2013). Code of professional conduct. Melbourne: Spiritual Care Australia Incorporated. http://www.spiritualcareaustralia.org.au/resources/Code_of_Conduct.pdf.

Seddon, R. L., Jones, E., & Greenberg, N. (2011). The role of chaplains in maintaining the psychological health of military personnel: An historical and contemporary perspective. Military Medicine, 176(12), 1357–1361.PubMedCrossRef

Siegler, M. (1982). Sounding boards. Confidentiality in medicine—a decrepit concept. New England Journal of Medicine, 307, 1518–1521.PubMedCrossRef

Smith, M. L., & Overvold, J. (2009). Chaplains and confidentiality. Hastings Centre Report, 39(1), 12–13.CrossRef

Tiberghein, P. (1954). The evolution of the medical secret. In P. Flood (Ed.), New problems in medical ethics (vol. 2). Westminster, MD.

Tribbensee, N. E., & Claiborn, C. D. (2003). Confidentiality in psychotherapy and related contexts. In W. O’Donohue & K. Ferguson (Eds.), Handbook of professional ethics for psychologists: issues, questions, and controversies (pp. 287–300). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRef

UKBHC. (2010). Code of conduct for healthcare chaplains. Respecting confidentiality [Section 4.3]. Cambridge: United Kingdom Board of Health Care Chaplaincy. Retrieved: http://www.ukbhc.org.uk/sites/default/files/ukbhc_code_of_conduct_2010_revised_2012_0.pdf.

UNESCO. (2005). Universal declaration on bioethics and human rights. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Veatch, R. M. (2012). Bioethics. New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Watson, F. A. (1998). Confidentiality and risk assessment: case studies of the professional judgements of nurses, social workers and hospital chaplains. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Leeds, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Witten, C. M. (2013). Confidentiality with chaplains: Sailors hold the key. Retrieved from: http://0-search.proquest.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/docview/1365669578?accountid=1365612001.

WMA. (1948). Declaration of Geneva (Physician’s Oath). Geneva: World Medical Association.

Title: Religion, Health and Confidentiality: An Exploratory Review of the Role of Chaplains
Authors: Lindsay B. Carey
Mark A. Willis
Lillian Krikheli
Annette O’Brien
Publication date: 01-04-2015
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 2/2015
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9931-2

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Religion, Health and Confidentiality: An Exploratory Review of the Role of Chaplains

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2015

Religious/Spiritual Characteristics of Indian and Indonesian Physicians and Their Acceptance of Spirituality in Health care: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Sense of Purpose in Life and Escape from Self as the Predictors of Quality of Life in Clinical Samples

Spiritual Energy of Islamic Prayers as a Catalyst for Psychotherapy

Increased Congregational Support for Parents of Children with Cystic Fibrosis

Image of God, Religion, Spirituality, and Life Changes in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Approach

The Blessingway Ceremony: Ritual, Nostalgic Imagination and Feminist Spirituality