African American Elders’ Serious Illness Experiences

Abstract

The foundation of culturally sensitive patient-centered palliative care is formed from one’s social, spiritual, psychological, and physical experiences of serious illness. The purpose of this study was to describe categories and patterns of psychological, social, and spiritual healing from the perspectives of aging seriously ill African American (AA) elders. Using narrative analysis methodology, 13 open-ended interviews were collected. Three main patterns were “prior experiences,” “I changed,” and “across past, present experiences and future expectations.” Themes were categorized within each pattern: been through it … made me strong, I thought about … others, went down little hills … got me down, I grew stronger, changed priorities, do things I never would have done, quit doing, God did and will take care of me, close-knit relationships, and life is better. “Faith” in God helped the aging seriously ill AA elders “overcome things,” whether their current illness or other life difficulties.

The Importance of Religiosity to the Well-Being of African American Older Adults Living With Dementia

“…A relationship with God showed a spiritual connectedness that leads to the belief of the Holy Spirit taking care of the older adults in this study. Consistent with the literature (Agli et al, 2015; Chatters et al, 2008; Coats et al, 2017; Scott, 2016), faith in God for many in this study most likely correlated to their health and gave them the strength to endure, cope, and live with their condition.…”

“…In addition, affiliations with faith communities serve as an extension to the African American family, providing social support that is not always available from close family and friends (Chatters, Taylor, Woodward, & Nicklett, 2015; Stansbury, Marshall, Hall, Simpson, & Bullock, 2017). For some, a spiritual connectedness results in improved moods and the strength to endure life-threatening and debilitating illness (Harris et al, 2010; Unantenne et al, 2013); this strength may be obtained through a faith in an all-powerful God and a belief that suffering in this world is temporary (Chatters, Taylor, Jackson, & Lincoln, 2008; Coats, Crist, Berger, Sternberg, & Rosenfeld, 2017).…”

Making sense of loss through spirituality: Perspectives of African American family members who have experienced the death of a close family member to cancer

“…A reliance on God to support and Bring them through is another dimension of spirituality and connectedness to God that is consistent with research conducted with African American elders, cancer patients, and family members (Coats et al, 2015). African American cancer patients with curable disease and their family members have described having faith that God would provide the support and necessary strength to get through the situation (Sterba et al, 2014;Torres et al, 2016).…”

Qualitative Analysis of Faith Community Nurse–Led Cognitive-Behavioral and Spiritual Counseling for Dementia Caregivers

“…The needs of individual care partners must be accommodated in the counseling process without unduly taking the time of the counselors or detracting from the caregiver as the focus of the counseling. When caregivers consider their religious beliefs to be a key part of their caregiving practice and relationship with their care partners, the CBSC approach helps by acknowledging and incorporating spirituality into the problem-solving techniques (Coats, Crist, Berger, Sternberg, & Rosenfeld, 2017).…”