Spiritual Growth and Care in the Fourth Age of Life

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Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Feb 8, 2006 - Religion - 272 pages

Spiritual Growth and Care in the Fourth Age of Life explores the spiritual dimension of ageing and investigates the role of pastoral and spiritual care in helping the frail elderly cope with end-of-life issues.

Focusing on the experience of nursing home residents and anecdotes gathered in interviews, MacKinlay sensitively presents the struggles facing older people in need of care, such as loss of independence and privacy. Her findings show that despite ill health, loneliness and depression, older people near the end of their lives find meaning and support in (re)discovering their spirituality, and that this is not just the experience of those in care facilities, but of older people more generally. The book includes a useful chapter on spiritual assessment, providing carers with information on how to recognise the need for care.

This book will be of interest to nurses, care workers, pastoral support professionals and anyone else working with older people.

 

Contents

PREFACE
7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
10
1 The Spiritual Dimension of Ageing and People in Need of Care
11
2 The Studies of Frail Older People and Staff in Aged Care
30
A Developmental Approach
43
4 Meaning in Life and Frailty in the Later Years
56
5 Wisdom Final Meaning the Spiritual Journey and Frail Older People
69
Provisional and FinalMeanings in Frail Older People
81
11 Living with Chronic Physical Health Problems
162
12 Relationship and Intimacy Needs among Nursing Home Residents
176
13 Grief Death Dying and Spirituality in an Aged Care Facility
194
14 Ethical Issues in the Fourth Age of Life
213
15 The Model of Spiritual Growth and Care in the Fourth Age of Life
229
ASSESSMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF OLDER ADULTS LEVEL 1
246
ASSESSMENT OF SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF OLDER ADULTS LEVEL 2
248
GROUP TOPICS FOR PSIRITUAL REMINISCENCE
253

7 The Spiritual Journey and Mental Health among Older Adults in Need of Care
96
Older People with Memory Loss and Dementia
109
Working in Multifaith and Multicultural Societies
129
10 Vulnerability and Transcendence
146

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About the author (2006)

Elizabeth MacKinlay, an Anglican priest, is Director of the Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies in Canberra, Australia, and Chair of the Australian Capital Territory Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing. She is Professor at the Charles Sturt University School of Theology. She has previously authored The Spiritual Dimension of Ageing, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

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