Meaning of Spirituality in the Experience of the Hospitalized Elderly

Abstract

Introduction: Spirituality is a phenomenon that gives meaning to every moment of the human being, at the same time it provides a meaning to his own person. During illness, a crisis of the meaning of spiritual life can occur when facing not only the illness, but the hospital environment as well. The older adult has greater connection with spirituality, living it in a peculiar way.

Objective: To understand the meaning of spirituality in the experience of the hospitalized elderly.

Methods: this was an interpretive phenomenological qualitative study, based on the phenomenology of the situated phenomenon. It was carried out in a Second Level Hospital in Guanajuato, from March 2019 to February 2020. The selection criteria were adults older than 60, who had at least 48 hours of hospitalization, with verbal communication skills. The sampling was intentional with 11 older adults considering the information saturation criterion. The phenomenological interview was used for data collection.

Results: It was possible to appreciate the meaning of spirituality / religiosity, spirituality in their lived religious practices, impediments to religious and spiritual life, illness as a test and the sense of spirituality and the divine as a sense of life and healing.

Conclusions: Spirituality for the elderly is a source of support that provides the capacity to face hospitalization, as well as the problems they face in the hospital environment. Older adults give meaning to what they have experienced and seek ways to experience spirituality.