Spiritual Pain in Meals on Wheels’ Clients

Healthcare

Lisa Boss¹  Sandy Branson²  Stanley Cron²  Duck-Hee Kang²  Tracey L. Yap² 

[1] School of Nursing, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;

关键词: spiritual pain;    aging;    biobehavioral;    stress;    depression;    loneliness;    salivary biomarkers;   

DOI  :  10.3390/healthcare3040917

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Background: Meals on Wheels’ clients are at risk for spiritual pain due to advanced age, social isolation, and failing health. They are also prone to stress, depression, and loneliness, placing them at risk for adverse biological disruptions and health outcomes. The purpose of the study was to examine associations of spiritual pain with psychosocial factors (stress, depression, loneliness, religious coping) and salivary biomarkers of stress and inflammation (cortisol, IL-1β) in Meals on Wheels’ clients. Methods: Data were collected cross-sectionally from 88 elderly (mean age 75.4). Spiritual pain, stress, depression, loneliness, and religious coping were measured with standardized instruments, and salivary biomarkers were assessed with enzyme immunoassays. Results: Spiritual pain was significantly and positively correlated with stress (r = 0.35, p ≤ 0.001), depression (r = 0.27, p = 0.01), and negative religious coping (r = 0.27, p = 0.01). Correlations with loneliness, positive religious coping, and salivary biomarkers were non-significant. Conclusion: Spiritual pain is an important concept in this population. Research should be expanded to understand the significance of spiritual pain in conjunction with psychosocial and biological variables and its potential impact on physical, mental, and cognitive health outcomes in the elderly.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.