AUGMENTING HOLISTIC CARE: EXAMINING SPIRITUALITY AND THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Holistic care has always been an interest of helping professionals, commonly assessed using the Bio-Psychosocial-Spiritual (BPSS) Framework. Yet, the spiritual aspect of care is still a dimension often overlooked. For older adults who are approaching the latter end of life, many questions related to spirituality are often raised and deliberated over – “What is the purpose of my life now?”, “What makes life worth living?”, or “Why do I have to go through this?” – upon encountering the threat of loss and limitation associated with ageing. To understand what the spiritual needs of individuals in old age are, the protective and risk factors of spirituality, and how social workers may approach the topic of spirituality, a descriptive qualitative design was employed to meet these research objectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants aged 55 years and above. Verbatim transcriptions of audio-recorded interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. A conceptual framework by MacKinlay (2001) was adopted to underpin the research. The results have found that there are three key spiritual needs that one may experience in old age: (1) rediscover new meanings in life, (2) maximise life, and (3) find hope amidst suffering. Protective factors of spirituality include the ability to help older adults overcome adversities, contribute to a meaningful direction in late life, and manage expectations towards the attainment of personal aspirations. There are, however, also risk factors; dwelling too deep into one’s spirituality may exacerbate the feelings of hopelessness as the search for answers does not always guarantee enlightenment. Social workers are invited to play a more significant role in incorporating spirituality into their interventions or provide spiritual care. This can begin from understanding the relationships which the older adult is associated with.