1) The document discusses how spirituality is important for holistic care of aging populations as people get older. It defines spirituality as a personal quest for meaning and relationship to the sacred versus religion which is a system of beliefs and practices. 2) Spiritual care involves assessing spiritual needs through tools and conversations, creating a spiritual care plan with goals and actions, and providing ongoing support through reflection, rituals, and discussion groups. 3) The hoped for outcomes are creating trust, diminishing fears, finding meaning, and maintaining dignity. Spiritual care plans should support growth rather than focus on deficits.

1. SPIRITUAL
TRANSFORMATION
Impact for ageing society

2. Stages of Life, Longevity & Many Older People

3. Life expectancy
• Average male life expectancy: 87 – 97 years
• Average female life expectancy: 87 – 99 years
• Australia‟s population of people aged over 85
years has grown 160%, compared to a
national population growth of just 30%

5. Challenges with ageing
“There was no respect for youth when I was young and now that I am old,
there is no respect for age – I missed it coming and going”. J.B Priestly
• Western culture values people for what they can produce, do, create or
possess
• Desire to stay „young‟ forever
• Stereotyping

6. Presentation Outline
• Influences affecting ageing outcomes
• Holistic care includes spiritual care
• Spirituality
• Assessment of spiritual needs
• Spiritual Care Planning
• Helpful Tools
• 3 stories from Aged Care Chaplaincy experience

7. Influences affecting ageing
• Health
• Finances
• Social/relationship support
• Ethnicity & Genetics
• Chronic illnesses
• Frailty requiring further care

8. People are physical, psychological/social, spiritual
beings
Older people need holistic
care and emotional support
as well as assistance with
activities of daily living.

9. Reflection Questions
How would you define spirituality?
How do you express your spirituality in everyday life?
What do you believe in?
What gives life meaning?

11. Spirituality
Personal quest for understanding and
seeking answers to ultimate
questions about:
• Life
• Meaning
• Relationship to the sacred or
transcendent

12. Religion
System of beliefs, practices, rituals &
symbols designed to:
• Facilitate closeness to the sacred or
transcendent
• Foster an understanding of one‟s
relationship & responsibility to
others in community

13. Religion
Religion and
spirituality
SpiritualityReligion

14. “The ageing journey itself involves
spiritual work in order to have hope,
develop maturity leading to wisdom
and to find meaning towards end of
life” (Nouwen & Gaffney, 1976).

15. Expression of spirituality

16. Spiritual Tasks

17. Spiritual Tasks (MacKinlay)
May involve
• Working through issues of guilt
• Forgiveness of self as well as others
• Reconciliation with others
• Reconciliation with God

18. Hoped for Outcomes
Anna Bloemhard sees spiritual care:
• Creating an atmosphere of trust and peace
• Supporting resident and family
• Helping to diminish fears and anxiety about suffering and death
• Increasing coping skills
• Restoration and maintenance of dignity and sense of personhood
• Reciprocal interpersonal connections
• Finding sense of meaning and purpose for all involved

19. Assessment Tools
Verbally based
Pictorial
Spiritual Lifeline

20. Initial Assessment
Values
Challenges
Religious Affiliation
Spiritual Strength & Support

21. Ongoing Spiritual Assessment
Concept of God
Involvement pattern
Religious practices
Helping others
Sources of hope & strength

22. Goals
How do you practice your spirituality?
How can we support you in this?
Is anything particularly frightening/meaningful to you now?

23. Care & support planning
Beware! There is a very real danger of spiritual care planning
becoming too clinical – it is not a medical document!
• Spiritual care supports well-being rather than highlighting what is
lacking
• Spiritual care is provided through caring people being „fully present‟
with the older person in all aspects of their care needs

24. What does a spiritual plan look like?
A spiritual plan should support residents
in re-establishing a commitment to
seeking spiritual growth.
1. What are their needs?
2. What are the goals of the plan ?
3. What is the action plan to achieve
goals?
4. Evaluate the plan to see if it is achieving
the stated goals

25. It is important to keep the conversation going
Cards to draw out questions of meaning
Ups and Downs
Signpost

26. Provide down time for reflection
Understand the value of ritual
The benefit of small groups

27. My Stories

28. Blessing
“That we come to understand that it is the quality of what we think and
say that makes us valuable members of society, not how fast or busy we
are.
Being able to live so open-heartedly and to adjust so well, that others can
look to us and see what being old can bring in terms of life, holiness and
goodness to make the world new again”
Joan Chittester