We are very proud to share that Bolton Hospice's very own Dr Jenny Klimiuk has had her research published in a renowned international journal.

Her research, along with that of Dr Kieran J. Moriarty from Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, on the Lourdes pilgrimage and its impact on quality of life was recently published in the Journal of Religion and Health.  This ground-breaking research project looks at the scientific proof of the power of pilgrimages, revealing some remarkable findings on the healing influence of faith.

Lourdes, France, is a major site of pilgrimage, particularly for Roman Catholics with illness, and it is now the largest pilgrimage site in Western Europe.  The paper outlines how approximately four to six million pilgrims, many with physical or mental illness, travel to Lourdes each year to worship and visit the baths and water faucets.

The research aims to directly measure the impact of this pilgrimage on health-related quality of life for more than 400 people, before and after travelling to Lourdes from the diocese of Salford in August 2015.  Questionnaires were used to highlight the holistic, spiritual and communal aspects of the pilgrimage experience.

You can read this original paper entitled 'The Lourdes Pilgrimage and the Impact on Pilgrim Quality of Life' online here. 

Dr Klimiuk started as a volunteer at the hospice back in 1998, before she attended medical school.  When she chose to specialise in palliative care, her first training job was back at Bolton Hospice as a registrar.

“It is so nice to be back where it started and be in Bolton where I grew up, plus the hospice was the place I decided to do palliative care. Being a consultant is very different to being a trainee and I’m really enjoying it.”