Learning Objective #1: Identify three themes of the healthy elderly related to spirituality

Learning Objective #2: Identify several strategies to promote the identified themes

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This study examines the meaning and the importance of spirituality in the well elderly who reside in their own home, and the significant spiritual experience that they encounter through relationships, religiion, and services. Qualitative Research Methodology was incorporated in this study to help explore and interpret the research.The purpose was to uncover the importance and significance of spirituality in the daily lives of the well elderly. Ten healthy elderly, ages 60 to 75, participated in an unstructured interview where each participant was surveyed. A list of questions pertaining to the role of spirituality in their everday lives was developed and served as points to initiate dialogue. These conversations were tape recorded and transcriptions for data analysis were developed.The results were grouped into themes and categories, for further analysis. As expected, Spirituality was found to be an important and necessary part of the healthy elderly person's daily life.The participants were able to identify for the researcher three specific areas related to a positive sense of spirituality, those being relationships, religion and the concept of service.The implications for this research are several. Additional research is needed to explore these three areas. Nurses can utilize the findings with their healthy elderly populations to foster opportunities and experiences which address the areas of relationships, religion and service.