Spiritual Needs of the Muslim Elderly Living in Nursing Homes: A Qualitative Study

Paying attention to and meeting the needs of people who are elderly helps to improve their health. Caring for the elderly includes addressing their spiritual needs which has been less investigated. This study aimed to examine the spiritual needs of the Muslim elderly living in nursing homes. A qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. Seventeen elderly people (nine women and eight men) were selected from four nursing homes in Iran using purposive sampling. The subjects were asked to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. First, semantic units were identified and then related codes were extracted and classified into categories and subcategories based on their similarities. Finally, themes were extracted from the data. The elderly's spiritual needs were classified into three main themes: religious needs, existential needs, and communication needs. Religious needs were divided into religious beliefs, individual religious practices, and collective religious practices. Existential needs were categorized as meaning of life, purpose of life, and need for peace. Communication needs were conceptualized to include relationship with God and relationship with others. It is argued that caregivers of the elderly should recognize the elderly's spiritual needs, including religious, existential, and communication needs, and attempt to maintain and promote the elderly's spiritual health.