From Bedside to Graveside: Increased Stress among Healthcare Chaplains

Abstract

The authors conducted a survey of Baylor Health Care System chaplains in an attempt to understand the stress they experience when leading funeral services of staff, staff family members, and patients. The intensity of stress experienced by these chaplains appears to be related to the cause of death, the deceased's age, and the relationship the deceased had with the chaplain. Further research is needed to corroborate these findings as well as to investigate how chaplains manage their own grief when they are involved in the grief experiences of patients and families.