AEGiS-14IAC: Meeting the spiritual needs of people living with and affected by HIV in Scotland.

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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Meeting the spiritual needs of people living with and affected by HIV in Scotland.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11429)

Chatterley MF
none, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: Over the past 10 years, the spiritual needs of people living with HIV in Scotland have been addressed within a traditional chaplaincy model. Spiritual care has been focused on individuals who were using residential (hospice style) care and has been based within that institutional style of setting. The chaplains' main focus has been preparation for death, conducting funerals and supporting the staff team. The changing needs of the HIV community have led to a radical rethink of the role.

METHODS: The role and remit for the chaplain have been explored in the context of parish ministry. A model has been developed where the 'parish' is the HIV community and the chaplain is pastor to that community. Ministry has been taken out of the hospice setting into the community; links have been made with local faith communities; funding has been secured from those communities. The balance of power has been shifted - service users are encouraged to make contact with their pastor,not only when they are in crisis, and to build ongoing pastoral relationships. This is a significant change - the previous model assumed a passive acceptance of contact which was automatically offered when clients were using the residential unit.

RESULTS: The chaplain has been used and valued in a different way. She has been able to offer broad based support and to become involved with the whole range of spiritual need. Her involvement with families has been much more pronounced and she has been able to undertake ongoing pieces of work, sometimes over several months.

CONCLUSIONS: The changing nature of the role has opened up many areas for ongoing work. As the care of people living with HIV is mainstreamed, so their spiritual care has also been taken back into the community and addressed within a model that can be found in any parish.

Keywords: AEGIS, Clergy, Health Services Needs and Demand, Hospices, Scotland, HumanKWDaegis,clergy,healthservicesneedsanddemand,hospices,scotland,human

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Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.