Allies in Humanising Healthcare
Changing healthcare education, training and practice will require many allies and a collaborative effort over many years. Here are listed some of those allies who, in a variety of ways, are seeking to humanise healthcare.
United Kingdom and Europe
The Association of Chaplaincy in General Practice:
Improving care through Listening and Guidance. The Association of Chaplaincy in General Practice exists to: Define and raise awareness of best practice in Primary Healthcare Chaplaincy; Enable the development of Chaplaincy in General Practice for the wellbeing of the public through providing advice, training, resources and research; Support those involved with GP Chaplaincy.
The British Association for Holistic Medicine and Healthcare (BHMA – formerly British Holistic Medical Association):
A charity which aims to promote holistic practice, publishes the Journal of Holistic Healthcare and Integrative Medicine and runs a Holistic Practitioner course
EPICC NETWORK. Enhancing Nurses’ and Midwives’ Competence in Providing Spiritual Care through Innovative Education and Compassionate Care
The Network exists to promote evidence-based spiritual care education and practice across Europe and beyond. The Network will bring together experts in the field and those who are new. The EPICC Network is for those interested in nursing/midwifery spiritual care education and practice.
GoHealth- Encouraging health and faith
The Guild of Health and St Raphael (GoHealth) is an ecumenical Christian charity with over 100 years’ experience in holistic health and wellbeing. The GoHealth approach of combining science, theology, mission and compassion plays an important part in educating, supporting and empowering those working in healthcare to bring whole person flourishing.
International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS)
The International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS) is a unique international network for people interested in bringing the study of spirituality to life through research, scholarship, education and practice. Founded in 2010 (as BASS – the British Association for the Study of Spirituality), INSS supports and encourages the study of spirituality through its well-established journal, biennial conferences, these information pages, and the activities of its Spirituality Scholars Network. INSS aims to contribute to research in, and the development of, a field of enquiry that makes a difference, both now and in the future.
Janki Foundation for spirituality in healthcare
The Janki Foundation is a UK charity promoting spirituality in healthcare. Great advances in the field of medicine on the physical level have led to ever-increasing demands on the health services, but at the expense of a more human-centred ethic and practice.
National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum
The Forum exists to promote awareness of the important connection between spirituality and positive mental health for people of all faiths and none. We aim to do this through educational events, sharing expertise and best practice in this area, including through our website.
Oxford Centre for Spirituality and Wellbeing
The vision for the Oxford Centre for Spirituality and Wellbeing (OxCSWell) is for the development of evidence-based, compassionate and holistic care which addresses not only the symptoms of a person’s illness but also enables them to experience being cared for with compassion and respect including their spiritual and religious needs. This vision is undergirded by research, training and the support of NHS and social care staff.
PRiME: Partnerships in international medical education
Health and Wholeness for All People: An international network of professional healthcare educators, committed to integrating rigorous science and compassionate care for the whole person. PRIME encourages and supports healthcare professionals to practise and teach sound scientific knowledge and clinical skills, to consider the effects of illness on the whole person – body, mind and spirit – and to provide care with integrity and generous compassion. We do this through delivering teaching programmes and training and resourcing healthcare educators around the world with teaching skills and materials that present evidence for the global health benefits of this approach, and illustrate the practice of patient-centred healthcare.
Research Institute for Spirituality and Health
The institute promotes research, training and networking in the field of religion, spirituality and health – both in Switzerland and across Europe – to promote a holistic approach in medicine.
Royal College of Psychiatrists UK Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group
The Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SPSIG) is a forum for psychiatrists to explore the spiritual challenges presented by psychiatric illness, and how best to respond to patients’ spiritual concerns
The Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare
The Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare improves patients’ lives by pioneering a new approach to medical education and training that places empathy at the heart of healthcare. Our goal is to equip the NHS with empathic, compassionate, and resilient healthcare practitioners. Our research and partnerships will support the practice and structure of empathic healthcare in the UK and beyond.
Whole Person Health Trust
Promoting whole person healthcare based on Christian foundations. The Trust was set up in 2002 for the purpose of both providing whole person health care and promoting education and training in the concept of whole person care
WiseGP A new vision for General Practice
This work allows clinicians to use, but also move beyond, biomedical scientific evidence to effectively tailor the healthcare they deliver to the needs of individuals, families and communities. This distinct work is crucial to the effective delivery of the whole person model of primary healthcare that we know delivers efficient, effective and equitable healthcare. But, this work is being undermined and lost in today’s healthcare: by the way we train and support the people doing this work, the way we design and run their workplaces and by the way that policies shape the work they do. WiseGP was established to restore this knowledge work and so to reclaim whole person primary healthcare.
United States of America
Duke University Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
The Center was founded in 1998, and is focused on conducting research, training others to conduct research, and promoting scholarly field-building activities related to religion, spirituality, and health. The Center serves as a clearinghouse for information on this topic, and seeks to support and encourage dialogue between researchers, clinicians, theologians, clergy, and others interested in the intersection. It publishes a newsletter Crossroads exploring research on religion, spirituality and health, The Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health’s e-newsletter, Crossroads, is being sent out free to anyone who signs up on our mailing list. The purpose of this newsletter is to help create a community of those interested in spirituality and health and keep the community informed. Crossroads comes out on a monthly basis and provides a wealth of information about what is happening in the field of religion, spirituality and health. Included are brief summaries of the latest published research on spirituality and health from around the world, with commentaries on the findings. News and events, conferences, workshops, and a wide variety of activities are provided, including the latest funding opportunities being offered in the field. The newsletter is packed with information for those interested in spirituality and health research or its clinical application.
The George Washington University Institute for Spirituality & Health (GWish)
The GWish Project, Advancing Spiritual Care in Everyday Clinical Practice, was launched to impact a significant shift in how spiritual care is delivered in health systems worldwide. We have partnered with multiple organizations to increase awareness about the role spiritual health plays in whole person care and accessibility for all who need it.
The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science
It aims to study and promote human flourishing, and to develop systematic approaches to the synthesis of knowledge across disciplines.
Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center
The Institute is an independent, interfaith, nonprofit organization that recognizes that humans are spiritual beings, affirming that the connection between spirituality and health is central to well-being.