Pain Control and Chaplaincy in Australia

This paper summarizes the experiences of 327 Australian health care chaplains with regard to their involvement in issues concerning pain control within the health care context. The findings indicate that approximately 60% of surveyed chaplains had provided some form of pastoral intervention directly to patients and/or their families dealing with issues concerning pain, and that approximately 36% of chaplains had assisted clinical staff with issues concerning patient pain. Differences of involvement between volunteer and staff chaplains are noted, as are the perspectives of chaplaincy informants regarding their role in relation to pain control. Some implications of this study with respect to chaplaincy utility and training are noted.