What is known about the spirituality in older adults living in residential care facilities? An Integrative review

• Published in: International journal of older people nursing Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. e12228 - n/a
• Main Authors: Gautam, Sital, Neville, Stephen, Montayre, Jed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-06-2019
• Subjects: Aged; ageing; Caregivers; Counseling; End of life decisions; Geriatric Nursing; Humans; Information gathering; integrative literature review; Literature reviews; Long-Term Care - psychology; Needs assessment; Nurses; Nursing; older adults; Older people; Practical aspects; Religion; Residential care; spiritual care; spiritual needs; Spirituality; caregivers; ageing; integrative literature review; spiritual needs; older adults; spirituality; nurses; spiritual care
• ISSN: 1748-3735; 1748-3743
• DOI: 10.1111/opn.12228

Aim
To synthesize evidence regarding the spiritual needs and care of older adults living in residential care facilities from the perspectives of older adults and nurses or caregivers.
Design
Integrative review of literature.
Data sources
Literature search was conducted using CINAHL Plus with Full Text via EBSCO, Scopus, PubMed, PsychInfo, Web of Science, and ProQuest Social Science Databases from March to December 2017.
Review methods
This integrative review utilised the Whittemore and Knafl framework and PRISMA in the selection of eligible articles. Quality of the articles was evaluated using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool.
Results
Seven articles were reviewed and analysed. There is limited evidence \and no agreed definition of spiritual needs and care of older adults living in residential care facilities. Spiritual needs of older adults in residential care facilities is a psycho‐social, religious and existential construct. Spiritual care in residential care facilities is linked to information gathering, religious guidance, maintaining family connections, providing companionship, discussing end of life issues, and providing counseling. Older adults highly value the role of nurses and caregivers in fulfilling their spiritual needs and providing spiritual care. However, nurses and caregivers perceived arranging a referral to a religious advisor as the main aspect of spiritual care. Therefore, nurses’, caregivers’, and older adults’ views on spiritual care differed to some extent.
Conclusion
The practical aspects of spiritual needs assessment and spiritual care provision requires further investigation, which is essential to improve the effectiveness of service delivery in residential care facilities.