Church Services in a Complex Continuing Care Hospital: Why Bother?

Abstract

This research aimed to explore patient motivation for attending hospital-run church services in a complex continuing care hospital setting, as well as the perceived spiritual benefits as categorized by Fitchett’s 7 × 7 Model for Spiritual Assessment. Invitations to participate in one-to-one interviews were offered to all patient attendees at both an ecumenical and a Roman Catholic service over the course of several weeks. We collected 20 interviews before performing a qualitative analysis, at which point we determined that saturation of content had been reached. The key findings were that participants identified the strongest perceived benefits in Experiences and Emotions, and Rituals and Practice, suggesting that access to the ritual of Sunday church services contributes meaningfully to participants’ coping strategies and overall quality of life.