| Abstract [eng] |
Demographic change in the population is one of the most important issues in health policy and gerontology. With increasing longevity in modern society, the mental health of the elderly is no less important than a quality treatment service. However, too little attention is still paid to spiritual assistance as a helping factor in meeting the needs of the elderly in Lithuanian social institutions and home help systems. The topic of spiritual assistance services has not been developed by Lithuanian authors so far. The work theoretically considers what forms of spiritual assistance services would contribute to the maintenance of mental health, independence, social and physical activity of the elderly. The actualization of the spiritual assistance concept can help fill in the missing information. An overview of the models of spiritual assistance as a theoretical basis can be useful for those working in the field of pastoral and gerontological social work. The analysis of the scientific literature confirms that spirituality and religiosity have a direct impact on the health of the elderly, therefore spiritual assistance as an aid to the elderly in meeting biological, psychological and social needs is an important factor. Spiritual assistance emphasizes a holistic approach to the person and includes complex assistance not only to the elderly but also to their loved ones, as successful aging is possible only by acting on the whole complex of personal needs. The application of theoretical models of spiritual assistance would help older people to integrate more into society, to solve emerging difficulties and improve their psychosocial functioning. Spiritual assistance can also be considered as teaching the principles of spiritual nursing, pointed at institutional employees providing social services - social workers or nurses. |
