Question

Topic Religion

Instructions Essay should include: • Introduction and explain the impact of religion to the elderly care , two(2) pages

Answer 1

The level of religious participation is greater among older people than among any other age group. About half attend religious services weekly or more often. For older people, the religious community is the largest source of social support outside of the family, and involvement in religious organizations is the most common type of voluntary social activity—more common than all other forms of voluntary social activity combined.Older adults have higher levels of religious commitment and participation than any other age group. Research has shown that both organi- zational and nonorganizational religious activities have a positive effect upon older adult well-being.

Psychologic benefits:Religion may provide the following psychologic benefits:

• A positive and hopeful attitude about life and illness, which predicts improved health outcomes and lower mortality rates

• A sense of meaning and purpose in life, which affects health behaviors and social and family relationships

• A greater ability to cope with illness and disability

Health-promoting practices:In older adults, active involvement in a religious community correlates with better maintained physical functioning and health. Some religious groups advocate behaviors that enhance health, such as avoidance of tobacco and heavy alcohol use. Members of these groups are less likely to develop substance-related disorders, and they live longer than the general population.

Social benefits:Religious beliefs and practices often foster the development of community and broad social support networks. Increased social contact for older adults increases the likelihood that disease will be detected early and that older people will comply with treatment regimens because members of their community interact with them and ask them questions about their health and medical care. Older people who have such community networks are less likely to neglect themselves.

Religion is not always beneficial to older adults. Religious devotion may promote excessive guilt, inflexibility, and anxiety. Religious preoccupations and delusions may develop in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychoses.

Certain religious groups discourage mental and physical health care, including potentially lifesaving therapies (eg, blood transfusions, treatment of life-threatening infections, insulin therapy), and may substitute religious rituals (eg, praying, chanting, lighting candles). Some more rigid religious groups may isolate and alienate older people from nonparticipating family members and the broader social community.