Espiritualidade e religiosidade: a percepção de idosos da comunidade com alto escore em espiritualidade

Abstract

Research on the themes spirituality and religiosity of the older persons has gained space among researchers in the health field. This study aimed to understand the perception of spirituality and religiosity of older people in the community who presented a high spirituality score on the Pinto and Pais Ribeiro Scale, in a previous assessment. The qualitative study used Harold Koenig's concept of spirituality, and as for the methodological process, narrative analysis was carried out. The study followed all ethical recommendations for research with human subjects. Interviews were carried out with 26 older people selected from the database of a previous study and who were registered in the areas covered by the Family Health Units of a town in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Data collection took place in two periods, from May to November 2019 (when the qualifying exam took place) and from June to September 2021 (interruption due to the COVID 19 virus pandemic). The semi structured interviews were carried out at their home, recorded, transcribed and later analyzed by the author. The guiding question was: how is the spirituality in this phase of your life? Through the narratives, five themes emerged: Aging, Support, Faith, Religious Practices and Resilience, each with its own categories. The transcendental aspects of spirituality were observed in the themes of Faith and Religious practices, providing feedback on Resilience. Resilience was one of the most significant themes observed in the participants' speeches, especially in situations of adversity. The Support theme included counting on the support of family and friends and also offering material, affective and spiritual support, as well as following the word of God to help others. Faced with the pandemic, the older people interviewed in this context, adapted their routines and did not leave religious practices. The results show that the older people in the community with a high spirituality score, interviewed in this research, relate aging to spirituality/religiosity and resilience, thus favoring the meaning of life, and overcoming adversities such as the pandemic.