Exploring Spirituality of Elders Relocating into Long-Term Care Facilities

Background: Spirituality is recognized as an important contributor to quality of life, particularly for older adults. Yet, limited research has been conducted to examine spirituality of older adults relocating to long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The intent of this mixed methods study was to cull d...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The open journal of occupational therapy Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 1 - 11
Main Authors:	Tsai, Kai-Lai, Chang, Pei-Fen J, Mathew, Anila J, Richard, Clarissa, Davidson, Harriett A, Hersch, Gayle I
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Kalamazoo Western Michigan University, Department of Occupational Therapy 01-04-2022 Western Michigan University Scholarworks @ WMU
Subjects:	Aged Geriatric psychology Long term health care Long-term care facilities Long-term care of the sick Mental health Occupational therapy Older people Religious aspects residential care Spirituality transition values Texas
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Background: Spirituality is recognized as an important contributor to quality of life, particularly for older adults. Yet, limited research has been conducted to examine spirituality of older adults relocating to long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The intent of this mixed methods study was to cull data from a parent study to explore different aspects of spirituality among residents newly admitted to LTCFs. Method: Qualitative and quantitative data of six participants from a parent study including interviews and scores from the religious and existential well-being sections of the Spiritual Well Being Scale (SWBS) were analyzed and triangulated. Results: Descriptive analysis of the demographic data including age, gender, ethnicity, and spirituality scores was conducted. Emerging themes from the qualitative interviews included: hope/hopelessness for the future; sense of belonging in the LTCF; contentment/discontentment with life; and personal religious beliefs. These themes, in turn, were triangulated with and supported by the SWBS scores Conclusion: The fndings have the potential of developing recommendations for spiritually-based interventions to facilitate successful relocation to LTCFs. Clinical implications for occupational therapy and future research are discussed. Keywords residential care, transition, values
ISSN:	2168-6408 2168-6408
DOI:	10.15453/2168-6408.1959