| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Article |
1 Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
2 Program on Aging, Disability and Long-Term Care, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
3 Landon Center on Aging, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan
4 Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Timothy P. Daaleman, DO, Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina, CB # 7595, Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7595, tim_daaleman{at}med.unc.edu
BACKGROUND Religion and spirituality remain important social and psychological factors in the lives of older adults, and there is continued interest in examining the effects of religion and spirituality on health status. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction of religion and spirituality with self-reported health status in a community-dwelling geriatric population.
METHODS We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 277 geriatric outpatients participating in a cohort study in the Kansas City area. Patients underwent a home assessment of multiple health status and functional indicators by trained research assistants. A previously validated 5-item measure of religiosity and 12-item spirituality instrument were embedded during the final data collection. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each factor and self-reported health status.
RESULTS In univariate analyses, physical functioning (P <.01), quality of life (P <.01), race (P <.01), depression (P <.01), age (P = .01), and spirituality (P <.01) were all associated with self-reported health status, but religiosity was not (P = .12). In a model adjusted for all covariates, however, spirituality remained independently associated with self-appraised good health (P = .01).
CONCLUSIONS Geriatric outpatients who report greater spirituality, but not greater religiosity, are more likely to appraise their health as good. Spirituality may be an important explanatory factor of subjective health status in older adults.
Key Words: Religion and medicine • spirituality • health status • geriatrics
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. A. Katerndahl Impact of Spiritual Symptoms and Their Interactions on Health Services and Life Satisfaction Ann. Fam. Med, September 1, 2008; 6(5): 412 - 420. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Sachs-Ericsson, C. Schatschneider, and D. G. Blazer Perception of Unmet Basic Needs as a Predictor of Physical Functioning Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults J Aging Health, December 1, 2006; 18(6): 852 - 868. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. B. Frey, T. P. Daaleman, and V. Peyton Measuring a Dimension of Spirituality for Health Research: Validity of the Spirituality Index of Well-Being Research on Aging, September 1, 2005; 27(5): 556 - 577. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. R. Egnew The Meaning Of Healing: Transcending Suffering Ann. Fam. Med, May 1, 2005; 3(3): 255 - 262. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. C. Stange On TRACK Ann. Fam. Med, March 1, 2004; 2(2): 177 - 179. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. C. Stange In this Issue: Multimethod Research Ann. Fam. Med, January 1, 2004; 2(1): 2 - 3. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
Read all TRACK Comments
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
