The outcomes of healthcare chaplaincy on hospitalized patients. A quasi-experimental study in Belgium

Research on the effects of chaplaincy care is scarce and hampered by methodological limitations. Our quasi-experimental study (n = 256 at baseline) aimed to gain insight into the immediate and intermediate impact of chaplaincy care on inpatients’ existential anxiety, peace, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. After controlling for age, gender, education, (non)religion/(non)belief and religiosity, participants receiving chaplaincy care demonstrated greater immediate improvement in peace compared to the control group at posttest. This was not found for anxiety, depressive symptoms or existential anxiety, nor for any of the outcomes at the three-week follow-up assessment.