A espiritualidade no manejo da doença crônica do idoso

Abstract

This study was carried out considering spirituality as part of the concept of health and its impacts on living with a chronic disease. It is an exploratory study with quanti-qualitative methodology that aimed to identify and understand the role of spirituality in the management of chronic disease of the elderly, by identifying the profile of individual participating in the study, the life changes caused by diagnosis of chronic disease and how religion/spirituality/faith interferes in this process. The technique of contents analysis of Bardin was chosen for the interpretation of discourse. The study was conducted with 20 elderly patients with chronic disease treated at the Instituto Paulista de Geriatria e Gerontologia "José Ermírio de Moraes" (IPGG), an institution whose mission is to promote healthy aging and social integration of the elderly. Data collection was conduted in October 2010, through semi-structured interviews. The elderly had between 60 and 81 years, being 65% women and 35% men, 65% married, 20% widowed and 15% divorced. As to occupation, 80% are retired, 10% housewives, 10% are active in the labor market. About the conditions of living, 85% live in their own home, 10% in relative"s house and 5% in rented accommodation, 50% live with spouse and children or grandchildren, 35% with spouse, 10% living alone and 5% living with children. When asked about their religious beliefs, all participants reported belonging to a religious doctrine, 75% declared themselves Catholic, 20% Protestant and 5% Spiritualist. The most prevalent chronic disease was High Blood Pressure, reported by 45% of the respondents, followed by Diabetes, present in 35% of the elderly. The discourse analysis resulted in the following themes: the multidimensional impact of chronic disease, coping and expectations of the elderly. In the analysis of the multidimensional impact of chronic disease, we identified the following thematic units: impact on lifestyle, emotional impact and economic impact. When regarding to coping with chronic illness, we analyzed the individual coping, social support and spirituality/ religion/ faith. As for expectations, thematic units identified were expectations about health and expectations about the meaning of life. The results demonstrate the changes brought by the diagnosis of chronic disease and its implications for adaptation to the new way of life. Management of these changes is complex and many factors influence both positively and negatively in dealing with the new condition. The results show that spirituality/religion/faith interferes positively in addressing the obstacles and difficulties of life, strengthen the resilience of the patient, thus improving their quality of life. For chronic disease management to be successful, health professionals active in assistance of the elderly with chronic illness should have the sensitivity to understand the elderly within their cultural context and strengthen their understanding and their accountability about the chronic condition.

Religiosity and spirituality as resilience strategies among long-living older adults in their daily lives

“…Spirituality, as a means of confronting, is capable of alleviating pain, psychological stress, and very often, the feeling of giving up (16) . For the older adults, maintaining religiousness and spirituality is a resource for standing up to stressful events, such as: financial losses after retirement; loss of youth, vigor and looks; the loss of health and the increase of chronic illnesses; the loss of independence and autonomy; the loss of close relatives and friends; and the certainty of life's end (17) .…”

Chronic Disease in the Elderly: Spirituality and Coping

“…The practice of praying is beneficial in many ways, as well as requests to God, often prayers of thanksgiving are made, generating feelings of gratitude for life, health, family and etc. (30) Regardless of reported religion, elderly who have a good relationship with a "higher entity" also have greater resilience to face life's barriers and situations of suffering, seeing life more positively and optimistically.…”

Falls Frequency In Elderly Assisted In The Family Health Strategy

“…To Rocha [19], the intrinsic factors are those resulting from physiological changes associated with aging, from the own subject, as the functional capacity, advanced age, female, several chronic diseases, cognitive reduction, visual impairment, labyrinthitis, physical inactivity, depression, osteoporosis, sensory and motor disorders such as postural instability, decreased flexibility and mobility, muscle weakness, gait and balance changes, visual and hearing impairment, cognitive decline and medications use (polypharmacy). Also, diseases with disabling potential, such as stroke (cerebrovascular accident), are also more common in the elderly population and tend to aggravate the physiological problems that contribute to an increased risk of falls [20].…”