Elderly caring for the elderly: spirituality as tensions relief

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the forms of coping used to relieve tensions by elderly caregivers of elderly relatives and to know the type of support they receive from the Primary Health Care service at home. Method: A qualitative study with a theoretical-methodological contribution of Grounded Theory, carried out with 10 elderly caregivers interviewed between August 2014 and January 2015. Results: Participants use primarily religious coping to deal with adverse situations that arise in their lives; they attribute to the sacred the strength to continue to age and care for another elderly person at home. Religiousness was the main coping strategy used by the participants, but little recognized by the health service. Final considerations: It is recommended that the Primary Health Care service provide greater support to these caregivers and be attentive to the spiritual dimension as an auxiliary element in the process of comprehensive and inclusive health care of these elderly caregivers.

Factors related to the use of religious coping by informal caregivers: an integrative review

“…This in view, a research carried out in Brazil with ten elderly caregivers, which evaluated the forms of coping used during the health care process, showed that they used, mainly, the religious coping to deal with adverse situations, and this provided them with adaptation mechanisms and strength to age while caring for another elder (18) .…”

“…However, not only these caregivers are subject to this reality, they also informally care for another elderly relative. This can be a threat to their own self-care and wellbeing, leading to physical and emotional overload and to social isolation (18,25) . Elderly caregivers, actually, confronted with the process of caring, face stress and overload that lead to pain and sleep alterations, in addition to a bad perception with regard to their own health (26) .…”

“…Elderly caring for the elderly: spirituality as tensions relie f (18 ) 2018 Brazil Descriptive and qualitative / n = 10 caregivers of elders The advanced age of the caregiver favored the use of religious coping.…”

Benefits of Spirituality for the Elderly: Literature Review

“…Actually, spirituality is the main source of support to reduce mental distress and trigger inner peace and hope according to (Rahimi, Anoosheh, Ahmadi, & Foroughan, 2013); as we age, it turns out that spirituality provides positive strength to live life in a satisfying way (Malone & Dadswell, 2018); spiritual empowerment for the elderly who live in the Islamic Boarding School (pondok pesantren in Bahasa) keeps the them active in carrying out their status and role in the new community; the elderly can interact with their community environment, increase the awareness that they are no longer young and death will surely pick them up (Agustina, 2020); religiosity is used as the main coping strategy to face and undergo the aging process (Silva, Moreira-Almeida, & Castro, 2018).…”

Dementia caregiving across Latin America and the Caribbean and brain health diplomacy

“…Other local community organisations in LACs, such as churches and clubs, can partner with dementia-oriented organisations to provide coping strategies for caregivers. Successful local support groups that achieve stress reduction, facilitate problem-solving, promote confidence, and maintain social interaction among caregivers 67 should be further promoted and scaled up to national and regional levels. Mindfulness-based interventions are also potentially scalable (because they can be accessed through a smartphone) and can decrease caregiver burden, stress, anxiety, and depression.…”