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Thursday, February 07, 2013

Insights: Spirituality and Ageing: Implications for the Care and Support of Older People


From the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Science, the latest issue of Insights is dedicated to spirituality and its relation to ageing and health care. 
Topics include: what is spirituality; spirituality as separate from religion; spiritual care in health and social policy; the research about spirituality, health and ageing; and the practice of spiritual care for older people.

Key Points from the issue:
·         There is disagreement and discussion about the definition of spirituality.
·         Ageing is a journey which includes a spiritual dimension.
·         The spiritual dimension focuses on meaning of life, hope and purpose, explored through relationships with others, with the natural world and with the transcendent.
·         The evidence base suggests that genuine and intentional accompaniment of people on their ageing journey; giving time, presence and listening are the core of good spiritual practice.
·         Reminiscence, life story, creative activities and meaningful rituals all help the process of coming to terms with ageing and change.

To see the full report, please access it here 

2 comments:

Kristyn Turner said...

Sometimes it's hard for physicians to understand the relationship between spirituality and healing. Whether it's coming to terms with the end and searching for comfort or praying with hope for better health, a patient can take much solace in spirituality. At Annals of Long-Term Care, we recently discussed the matter of spirituality and palliative home care. Like the article mentioned above, there is a lot of insight provided for the physician on how to approach and provide proper spiritual care in a palliative care environment. You can find the full write-up here: http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/content/palliative-home-care-and-spirituality-clinicians-framework

Vida said...

Carolyn, Thanks for this post on the role of spirituality in the ageing journey...

...and Laurie, for this excellent blog! I discovered it through a tweet sent out on Twitter by The Annals of Long Term Care. The health care community is very active and growing on Twitter. I noticed you have an account there as well. If I may make an observation - You will attract even more LTC healthcare practitioners if you include some info about your "mission" in your profile bio.

Thanks again for your work and this excellent service to the LTC community. I am eager to spread the word about your blog with my inter-disciplinary team colleagues.