REPORT OF THE PARISH HEALTH MINISTRY TASK FORCE
SEPTEMBER, 2001
| Parish Health Committee | Main Report | Appendices |
This report documents the views of
1. What do people believe are the health concerns and needs of people in our parish? and
2. What are the thoughts of members about the parish exploring ways to assist with those needs?
While each group focused on answers that were particular to their needs, the committee combined all the information for analysis .The information provided was reviewed by the ad hoc parish health committee who identified themes that predominated in our parish community. The recommendations found within this report are based on those themes both in terms of needs and in terms of solutions. The Appendices attached to this report document the process and methodology used by the committee members. They provide a historical record for the archives and guidance for anyone who wishes to use the process in the future.
The committee found the parishioners to be very sophisticated in their understanding of health. Group participants used a broad definition of health based on the interaction between spiritual, social, emotional and physical aspects of their being with their health. For some, health was seen as intrinsically connected with other social issues. The greatest needs centered around those associated with our older parishioners and a widespread need of all age groups for education about managing one's health. Younger age groups don't initially see a need but as the group discussions progressed they often identified some of the greatest needs. The issues around safety surprised us but on reflection it makes a great deal of sense given the age of our parishioners and the location of the church. People expressed the need for a community centered on the church.
Finally, it was evident that many people do not know about the official services and how to use them. Thus official agencies are unaware of all the needs evident in a given population and this report makes some of those needs overt.
Based on the findings from our research in the parish, we recommend
1. The Pastoral Care committee should create policy and guidelines for a health ministry [1] on behalf of the Parish Council and act as an advisory committee to the parish professional health care worker.
2. The parish requires a professional health care worker on staff to assess, intervene when required and advocate on behalf of parishioners.
3. Such a position should be a paid position.
4. The findings of this report should become the basis for the health ministry of the parish professional health care worker and the Pastoral Care committee.
Findings:
THE HEALTH NEEDS OF PARISHIONERS
There are unmet health needs in the parish that could be addressed by the church. There is a need for a professional health care manager to coordinate a health ministry. Such a person must work in close conjunction with the existing programs in the parish and the community. The participants in the process were clear that there should not be duplication of services either within the church or with outside health agencies.
Six general areas of need were identified:
1. Learning to Manage One's Health
2. Managing Life as an Older Person
3. Need for a Caring Advocate
4. Building Support Networks
5. Helping People in Transition
6. Community building
The following descriptions of each of the six areas of need are described using the words of parishioners as expressed in the discussion groups wherever possible.
Learning to Manage One's Health
This area is traditionally known as health education and in this survey included the sub-theme of information sharing. Parishioners are hungry for knowledge. Suggested topics for Teen education were: addictions, sexual assault, suicide, bullying, body image, sexual orientation, and eating disorders. It was thought a faith perspective on these subjects would be useful. A previous program on developmental stages for teens was seen as successful. For parents , a forum on parenting skills was seen as desirable and could be developed in partnership with other community groups. A previous program on Aging was popular and helpful and is still needed. The Hope in Distress series was also seen as helpful in that it brought those who need help together with those who could help. The need for this was seen as on-going and could also facilitate outreach of help to the community. A forum for asking questions was viewed as a safe place to get answers to many health questions.
Of special note is the category of moral/spiritual education. In this area, an example of fostering marriage health, was prayer training between individuals and within the family. The desire for more frequent and more visible healing services was expressed by several people in several groups. For teens the subject matter of moral development would be relevant.
As one parishioner movingly noted, most of the people Jesus helped asked for help. It was suggested that perhaps we need to teach people how to ask. In asking you give permission to those who care to help you. When people share their personal pain, one can be with them differently, more richly.
Educating about safety factors for various groups was seen as an important issue. At risk groups were active teens and the very young children at Sunday School. Older people are at risk of falling and other injuries.
Information Sharing
The need for information sharing was voiced in every group discussion.
People are lacking information about what services are available and how to access services. The following questions illustrate this point:
1. What do public health nurses and community health nurses do for you?
2. What is Power of Attorney?
3. What steps do you take when you need a doctor in an emergency and your own doctor is away?
4. What do you do when you ask for help from an agency and there is no follow-up?
5. How do we access the nurses in the official agencies?
6. How do we know what services are available - both official and private for young and old? And how do we access these services? Specific examples of what some people did not know about were the Handidart service, private homemaker services, Taxi Saver coupons and where to take leftover pills.
7. How do we make choices about institutionalization of older frail or sick people, especially when there are limited choices in housing?
People said that they didn't want to be a bother. They wanted someone to contact to chat about their symptoms and be assured that they really needed attention and were not being a nuisance. Some retired and practicing nurses in the parish were fulfilling this function but they were not always there and not everybody knew who to contact.
People made specific requests for:
1. One contact person when they needed help
2. One phone number to contact all services - subsidized; private
3. An emergency call system for week-ends
4. Someone to chat with when symptoms occur
5. A directory of community services (the Seniors Directory was made available at all meetings but when people are stressed they are not always able to use written materials)
6. A list of contact persons for available services
Emphasis was placed on maintaining communication and liaison between available services. People wanted to share resources provided the personal touch could be maintained.
A centre in the church modeled on the
Managing Life as an Older Person
Older people needed help in all six of the general areas of need identified
above. In addition Physical challenges confront older people at every
turn. They need new ways to add strength and safety in their living e.g. opening
bottle tops, obtaining physical assistance devices in the home. They need help
getting to church and physical assistance in the home when they are ill. Exercise
groups at, for instance,
Need for a Caring Advocate
The many responses under this theme refer to the expressed need of people to have an identified parish health person help them manage their health needs. Specifically, respondents mentioned the need to have a person in the parish who serves as a source of information, health advisor , counselor, advocate for individuals at the time of their need, and coordinator of service provision. The question of trust in the person was raised and it was suggested that such a person have a professional background.
Some examples of the need in this area are:
· helping people find assistance when they are unable to care for themselves;
· helping seniors negotiate their way through the health care system particularly when they are in crisis;
· getting correct information to the doctor;
· dealing with emergencies as when doctors are away or when a house call is required;
· helping a person interview or find home assistance at a time when they lack the energy to do so because of their health situation
· offering counseling support for seniors and others in health crisis
· reminders about when to take and do things.
Building Support Networks
Support in a variety of situations was seen as an important need. Of note there was a need for men to be visitors. A number of ideas were put forth in this category.
1. Parishioners need visits from church people for emotional support. A quick response is often needed and a contact person is necessary. There is a need for a central place to exchange information about friends who can't go to church anymore but would like to have a member come and see them
2. Older people need reassurance especially when families are far away. They often feel alone and helpless and the church is seen as filling this need. Of particular concern is during and after hospitalization.
3. There is a need for companionship among many parishioners.
4. Particular groups need support: single parents, family caregivers, recently divorced people, parents of teenagers.
5. There was a desire for prayer circles and /or prayer rings for people in need
Helping People in Transition
It was brought to our attention that many groups in the parish are facing transitions: young people as they move through their years into adolescence and adulthood; the bereaved; older people; people who are dying, those who are divorcing/marrying; those having children and those who are in personal crisis such as postpartum depression. Otherwise healthy people may suffer from exhaustion, stress and burnout related to their work.
Activities that strengthen identity and offer educated support as in bereavement support are seen as helpful. Concern is expressed that those who are bereaved may become isolated and prematurely close down their lives. For those in crises, the question of "Who cares?" was asked. Shut-ins need visiting on a regular basis with a reporting system back to the church re needs identified during the visit.
During these times people ask for a safe place to seek help and the availability of informed listeners who offer the gift of presence without advising. For people in crises, care, help, coaching and advice were needed. Time is of the essence and staff and/or volunteers need to take time immediately to see to people's needs.
The community was defined as both that within the church community and that which is outside such as our neighborhood, the downtown area and beyond. Health issues were not viewed as separate from parish life. By strengthening friendships in the church community we strengthen support in difficulties. It was seen as important to give any age group a sense of usefulness and being needed and this includes our young children and teens. Particularly important was the finding of means to bridge the generations, nourishing human contact between children and other groups in the parish.
ROLE OF THE CHURCH
Generally there was agreement that the church does have a place in meeting health needs. They were mixed in their views about the need for a parish nurse and some saw that there were other needs e.g. for teens that take priority at this point over health. A few said that the needs were more in areas of support and social and mental health.
For some, the church should be a place of welcome and resources . Duplication was to be avoided. It was felt that we must build on existing groups within the parish. Concerns were expressed about the financial implications of such a ministry.
Some suggestions included:
· We need a pool of people who can assist in disseminating needed information
· It is good to have someone in the parish to phone
· We need public talks e.g. sermons relating religion to daily life
· We have a need for healing services which could be coordinated with other churches. Perhaps the Guild of Health could meet more frequently and be more visible. The Laying on of Hands could be more available.
· There is a need for services for recently divorced people. The church could be a catalyst for information exchange
· There is a need for pastoral care, especially visits by the clergy and/or pastoral team
· Some needs could be met by the family ministry
· Some people felt that they, individually, did not have any needs at present but could see that others did. It was felt by some that the type of service needed was not clear until the need arises and the service should respond to need.
· An information-giving service could work if it were an outreach with all services offered to be open to the public
· The church could address our concerns - when we are in hospital; when we are discharged; Visitor to hospital and after
· We need a central exchange place to keep friends notified about each other; a place to phone for information
· Someone in the office to respond to calls
· Helpful to have a person with professional skills to coordinate service provision and volunteers
· Restoring our newsletter might be a good idea
· The small group ministry and neighborhood networks are ways to connect people
Submitted by Members of the Parish Health Ministry Task Force
Jessie Mantle
Sara Chu
Carol Godwin
Judith Knoop
Tim Stewart
Lois Powell - while on the Pastoral Care committee
Harold Munn ex officio
Karen Fast ex officio
[1] In this report a health ministry is defined as the "intentional reaching out to others by a church that promotes health. Health is understood as harmony with self, others, the environment and God. The motivation for health ministry comes from a shared understanding of the call to wholeness as illuminated in Christian tradition. Health Ministry includes the intrinsically health promoting qualities of a congregation and the health services provided with the support of a health professional. Health ministry respects the culture in which it is expressed, recognizing individual and community responsibility for health among those it serves." Taken from Chase-Zerlek, M. (1991). The meaning and experience of health ministry within the culture of a congregation with a parish nurse. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. 10(1), 46-55.
| Parish Health Committee | Main Report | Appendices |