Conceptualizing spiritual care in the U.S. through chaplain activities in research: a scoping review sub-analysis

Healthcare chaplaincy has advanced toward establishing a more universally recognized professional identity. However, the profession lacks a comprehensive definition of what constitutes spiritual care. We conducted a sub-analysis of a larger scoping review of the existing spiritual care literature to further conceptualize spiritual care activities according to published research and from various clinical settings in the United States. This sub-analysis examined 44 articles and identified 388 individual activities which we grouped into 14 spiritual care categories. Most activities focused on patients and/or patients' families. Of the 388 activities, psycho-spiritual activities were the most common (19.6%), followed by spiritual assessment and/or spiritual support activities (16%), spiritual/religious rituals, and services (15.7%), and activities related to staff support and education (11.6%). Findings that a definition of spiritual care, as conceptualized through research articles, establishes interpersonal relationships through which spiritual and religious traditions, practices, beliefs, and values are facilitated to maximize health and wellbeing.