A Study on Spiritual Well-Being, Depression, and Health Status of Elderly Women in a Community

Jang, In Sun

doi:2004.10.2.91

Korean J Women Health Nurs > Volume 10(2); 2004 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing 2004;10(2):91-98.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2004.10.2.91

A Study on Spiritual Well-Being, Depression, and Health Status of Elderly Women in a Community

In Sun Jang

Department of Nursing, Sunlin College, Korea. agape90@korea.com

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spiritual well-being, depression, and health status of elderly women in a community for providing the basic data necessary to improve the practice of nursing. METHOD: The participants were 295 elderly women, over 65 years old in Gwangju and Kyongbuk province, Korea. The data were collected between April 15th and June 15, 2003 using a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS Win 8.0. RESULT: Factors such as religious belief (p< .001), type of religion (p< .001), participation of worship (p< .001), significance of religion (p< .001), education (p=.001), spouse (p=.015), financial supporter (p=.001), and living satisfaction (p< .001) showed a statistically significant relation with spiritual well-being. There was a negative correlation between spiritual well-being and depression (r=-0.32, p< .001), and between health status and depression (r=-0.50, p< .001). However, there was a positive correlation between spiritual well-being and health status (r=0.32, p< .001). CONCLUSION: In order to promote spiritual well-being in elderly women, it is necessary to develop a nursing intervention program classified by the type of religions, followed by studies on the results of proven intervention programs.

Key Words: Elderly women; Spiritual well-being; Depression; Health status