An ethic of meaningful closeness: The church’s contribution to building ethical relations within healthcare

Abstract

Illness and suffering are unique human experiences. Dealing professionally with patients is all about relationship building. The aim of relationship building is to secure a new identity for the patient. This study presents the argument that caring should be much more than merely dealing with the illness and suffering of the patient. It also impacts on the healthcare practitioner, the healthcare administrator and the manager, the family and the community. The emerging question is how can such a relationship be developed with the patient given the complexity of the caring environments and needs? A framework, an ethic of meaningful closeness, is presented as a perspective from which caring relationships can be developed. The aim of this framework is to guide the building of caring relationships with patients. The paper further advocates the important role that the church, as a community of faith, holiness and believers, can play in developing such a framework. The framework is built on the principles of mercy, restoring relationships, new meanings for challenges, and experiencing the presence of God. These perspectives culminate in an ethic of care as the foundation for bringing meaning and healing to the patient.