Teaching Intercultural Competency to Chaplains in a Hospital Sitting: Providing Spiritual Care to African American Women and Families Experiencing Perinatal Loss

Peoples Jackson, Mishella

2018-05

2010-2019

The importance of recognizing the cultural perspective of grief and loss is well supported in literature about adult loss of life, but much less so in perinatal loss (PNL). PNL is defined as a baby's death leading up to or soon following the birth of a baby. A spiritual care relationship based on authentic positive regard and a sensitive cultural approach to care is particularly necessary for women experiencing PNL. Pastoral care responses are complex and include a plethora of variables that can lead to successful spiritual interventions. Intercultural competency is a foundation to spiritual trustworthiness and facilitates emphatic resonance. A crucial element of teaching intercultural competency to chaplains' entails facilitating their understanding of how culture, individual uniqueness and human characteristics interact to influence the chaplain-patient dyad. Developing intercultural competency on the part of the chaplain helps lower the mother's defenses and increases the mother's availability for productive engagement with her chaplain. Literature that addresses the cultural perspective of perinatal loss and grief among African American women, and the ramifications for their families, is practically nonexistent. This study assesses the pertinence and effectiveness of an educational intervention intended to enhance a cohort of chaplains' cultural perspective of PNL and grief among African Americans. The research sample consisted of 13 chaplains involved in spiritual care with hospitalized patients. In addition to a training curriculum, chaplains completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires to assess the benefits of the training interventions by way of the chaplains' self-reports. This information will also be used to inform future research and training. Study questions included the following: A. Following the training, will the chaplains report an increase in culturally relevant knowledge about: 1) African American women who experience PNL?; 2) African American women of childbearing age?; 3) health issues and medical care among African American women and PNL?; 4) how PNL is perceived and managed in the African American community?; and 5) experiences of African American women in the medical care system in relationship to PNL? B. Do chaplains report that the training increased their skills in companioning with African American women experiencing PNL? C. Do chaplains report that training in this area is needed? D. Will the training generate ideas for further directions in training that will enhance chaplains' spiritual care with African American women experiencing PNL? At the conclusion of the study, the chaplains' responses suggest that they gained culturally relevant information. The chaplains reported increased knowledge about African American women of childbearing age, their health issues and medical care, and their experiences in the American health care system. Chaplains reported that the training would improve their spiritual care within the African American PNL community in general, and particularly their ability to companion with African American women experiencing PNL. All chaplains indicated that they acquired new information about health disparities, and social and cultural characteristics of African Americans in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups. Further, the chaplains unanimously agreed that intercultural training is important and needed. They offered ideas for future training to further enhance their spiritual care with African American women experiencing PNL.

text

application/pdf

2018-05

dissertation

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Interdenominational Theological Center

Dr. McCrary, Carolyn A. L.

Interdenominational Theological Center
Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/itc.td:2018_jackson_mishella

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/