Relationship Between Chaplain Visits and Patient Satisfaction

This prospective study investigated the relationship between chaplain visits and patient satisfaction, as measured by Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and Press Ganey surveys from 8,978 patients who had been discharged from a tertiary care hospital. Controlling for patients' age, gender, race, ethnicity, language, education, faith, general health status, and medical conditions, chaplain visits increased the willingness of patients to recommend the hospital, as measured by both the HCAHPS survey (regression coefficient = 0.07, p < .05) and the Press Ganey survey (0.11, p < .01). On the Press Ganey survey, patients visited by chaplains were also more likely to endorse that staff met their spiritual needs (0.27, p < .001) and their emotional needs (0.10, p < .05). In terms of overall patient satisfaction, patients visited by a chaplain were more satisfied on both the Press Ganey survey (0.11, p < .01) and on the HCAHPS survey (0.17, p < .05). Chaplains' integration into the healthcare team improves patients' satisfaction with their hospital stay.