Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative study is to better understand what is essential for older adults to achieve successful spiritual well-being. Aging literature has demonstrated the importance of spirituality for older adults. Some studies have even shown the positive effects of spirituality on the physical and mental health of older adults (Coelho-Júnior et al., 2022; Koenig, 2012; Lawler-Row & Elliot, 2009). In nursing literature, there are several models that aim to provide guidance on improving the spiritual well-being for older adults (Cheng et al., 2023; Sulmasy, 2002; Wang et al., 2022). However, some researchers have argued how nurses are not the ideal spiritual care provider due to their lack of training and pre-existing burdening responsibilities (Balboni et al., 2014; Goodare, 2017; Harrad et al., 2019). Consequently, professionally trained spiritual care providers are an underutilized resource by the healthcare system, and they should be integrated in the care providing process – especially for older patients (Ho et al., 2018). Since spiritual wants differ from spiritual needs, I have interviewed 8 spiritual care providers – representative of the major spiritualities in Canada – to discuss what older adults need to improve their spiritual well-being. This information was collected and used to formulate a very generic model that outlines the necessities of spiritual well-being for older adults. My hope is that this framework will be used by healthcare providers to improve the quality of care they provide to their older patients.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Commonalities and Differences
KEYWORDS
Aging, Spirituality, Religion
