Spiritual and Emotional Care Among Clergy as First Responder–Victims in Puerto Rico: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

Julianne Bryant; Melanie Nyhof; Michael W. Hassler; Jennifer Abe; Anthony Vives De León

doi:10.1007/s10943-024-02165-7

Spiritual and Emotional Care Among Clergy as First Responder–Victims in Puerto Rico: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

Julianne Bryant, Melanie Nyhof, Michael W. Hassler, Jennifer Abe, Anthony Vives De León

Psychological Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted to explore the experiences of church leaders (10 priests, pastors, and pastors’ wives) who provided disaster spiritual/emotional care (DSEC) to the island of Puerto Rico during a period of intense and repeated crises from 2017 to 2022. Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed. Findings indicated that the participants engaged in psychological, social, and religious coping strategies to actively cope with the stress and trauma of being first responder rescuer/victims. Regional, cultural and contextual factors are considered in an effort to understand and enhance services to populations where disaster is the new normal.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4580-4608
Number of pages	29
Journal	J Relig Health
Volume	63
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02165-7
State	Published - Dec 1 2024

Keywords

Chaplains
Clergy
Disasters
First responder
Puerto rico
Spiritual and emotional care

Access to Document

10.1007/s10943-024-02165-7

Cite this

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title = "Spiritual and Emotional Care Among Clergy as First Responder–Victims in Puerto Rico: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study",

abstract = "A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted to explore the experiences of church leaders (10 priests, pastors, and pastors{\textquoteright} wives) who provided disaster spiritual/emotional care (DSEC) to the island of Puerto Rico during a period of intense and repeated crises from 2017 to 2022. Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed. Findings indicated that the participants engaged in psychological, social, and religious coping strategies to actively cope with the stress and trauma of being first responder rescuer/victims. Regional, cultural and contextual factors are considered in an effort to understand and enhance services to populations where disaster is the new normal.",

keywords = "Chaplains, Clergy, Disasters, First responder, Puerto rico, Spiritual and emotional care",

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AU - Vives De León, Anthony

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