Views of life and death and spiritual pain among elderly individuals : Clarification of the structure of pain and creation of a care program

本研究通过访谈9位在福利机构或福利院从事老年护理的护士、8位护理专业人员和14位在家或福利院生活的老年人，探讨老年人的精神痛苦、生活乐趣和生活理由、精神护理的实施及相关问题。精神上的痛苦包括因身体机能受损而无法独立生活的痛苦、因成为他人的负担而感到遗憾、因失去家人而感到孤独和孤立、为摆脱苦难而希望死亡等。与周围人关系良好的老年人，无论他们是住在养老院还是在家里，都感到“现在很快乐”。本研究结果揭示了老年人对精神关怀的需求。

In the present study, we elucidated the spiritual pains felt by elderly individuals, their daily joys and reasons for living, and implementation of spiritual care and related issues by interviewing nine nurses involved in geriatric care at welfare facilities or homes, eight care professionals, and 14 elderly individuals living at home or in welfare facilities. Spiritual pains included the hardship of not being able to live independently due to impaired physical function, being sorry for being a burden to others, loneliness and isolation due to loss of family, and wishing for death so as to be freed from hardships. Elderly individuals who had favorable relationships with the people around them felt "happy at present", regardless of whether they lived in facilities or at home. The present findings revealed requirements for spiritual care for elderly individuals.