Integrating Spirituality into Healthcare Plan of the Aged – A Case Study of the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Ghana
Seth Oteng Ofori 
& John Kwaku Opoku
Issue: Vol.10 No.4 April 2024 Issue Article 5 pp. 106-120
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241045| Published online 26th April, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Many older people are known to stick to their faith or become more spiritual as they age. Scholars have argued that spirituality increases as people grow older and get nearer to exiting this world. Thus spirituality plays a crucial role in the lives of the aged and provides the necessary support to navigate through this challenging phase of life. The aged cannot live a prolonged life of enduring challenges of pain and deterioration of health. Meanwhile, their natural adherence to their faith and spirituality remains a valuable asset to improve their wellbeing. How can their spirituality be improved to make their lives better and promote quick recovery from ill-health? Again, how can the healthcare system of the country properly and intentionally integrate spiritual care into the health and healing system of the aged? Quickly to add here is what appears to be a conspicuous neglect of what used to be a link between health and spirituality, a design by the creator. These emanated research into the role of health workers in Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in their care of the aged. Through an interview with these practitioners and a questionnaire designed for the aged in their care, an integration of health and spirituality became appealing. Although the facility has no structure in place detailing how spirituality is to be integrated into aged healthcare, it is on the surface being practiced for all ages. The nation stands to gain if the health and spirituality of the aged are well integrated since failure to address the spiritual needs of the aged during medical treatment can increase healthcare costs.
Keywords: Aged, Health, Spirituality, Integration.
Balboni, Tracy A., Lauren C. Vanderwerker, Susan D. Block, M. Elizabeth Paulk, Christopher S. Lathan, John R. Peteet, and Holly G. Prigerson. “Religiousness and Spiritual Support Among Advanced Cancer Patients and Associations With End-of-Life Treatment Preferences and Quality of Life.” Journal of Clinical Oncology 25, no. 5 (February 10, 2007): 555–60. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2006.07.9046.
Barbour, Ian G. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1997.
Irudayadason, Nishant A. “Exploring the Nexus between Spirituality and Health.” MOJ Yoga & Physical Therapy 3 (2018): 34–38.
Koenig, Harold G. “Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications.” ISRN Psychiatry 2012 (December 16, 2012): 1–33. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/278730.
Koenig, Harold G. “An 83-Year-Old Woman with Chronic Illness and Strong Religious Beliefs.” Jama 288, no. 4 (2002): 487–93.
Mackinlay, Elizabeth. “Spirituality and Religion in Older Adults: Building Knowledge in an Emerging Discipline.” International Psychogeriatrics 27, no. 5 (2015): 701–3.
Malone, Joanna, and Anna Dadswell. “The Role of Religion, Spirituality and/or Belief in Positive Ageing for Older Adults.” Geriatrics (Switzerland) 3, no. 2 (2018): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics3020028.
———. “The Role of Religion, Spirituality and/or Belief in Positive Ageing for Older Adults.” Geriatrics 3, no. 2 (2018): 28.
McLeod, Saul. “Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development.” Simply Psychology 3 (2018).
Ofori, Seth Oteng, and John Kwaku Opoku. “The Role of Spirituality in the Healthcare of the Aged: A Case Study of Elderly Health Care at the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital – Ghana.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, December 12, 2022, 287–300. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20228102.
Oteng Ofori, Seth. “Health And Spirituality: Towards The Care Of The Aged; A Case Study Of Asante Akyem Agogo.” Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology, 2022.
Oxhandler, H. K., D. E. Parrish, L. R. Torres, and W. A. Achenbaum. “The Integration of Clients’ Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice: A National Survey.” Social Work 60, no. 3 (July 1, 2015): 228–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swv018.
Puchalski, Christina. “Spirituality in Health: The Role of Spirituality in Critical Care.” Critical Care Clinics 20, no. 3 (2004): 487–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccc.2004.03.007.
Puchalski, Christina M. “Spirituality and Health: The Art of Compassionate Medicine.” Hospital Physician 37, no. 3 (2001): 30–36.
Puchalski, Christina, and Anna L Romer. “Taking a Spiritual History Allows Clinicians to Understand Patients More Fully.” Journal of Palliative Medicine 3, no. 1 (2000): 129–37.
Swart, Marius. “Spirituality and Healthcare.” Lategan, LOK & Van Zyl, GJ (Eds.), 2017, 113–28.
Taylor, Dan, Madhuri S Mulekar, Arnold Luterman, Frederick N Meyer, William O Richards, and Charles B Rodning. “Spirituality within the Patient-Surgeon Relationship.” Journal of Surgical Education 68, no. 1 (2011): 36–43.
Whitehead, Dean. “Incorporating Socio‐political Health Promotion Activities in Clinical Practice.” Journal of Clinical Nursing 12, no. 5 (2003): 668–77.
WHO. “Integrative Palliative Care and System Relief into Primary Care, a WHO Guide for Planners, Implementers and Managers,” 2018. who.int%3E iris%3Ehandle.
Wong, Paul. “Spirituality and Aging CSA 2010.”
Rev. Seth Oteng Ofori is a Medical Laboratory Scientist and a chaplain at Presbyterian Hospital, Dormaa Ahenkro. He is an ordained Minister of the Gospel in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. He is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy program in Religious Studies from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. He has completed a Master of Philosophy in Religious Studies from the same University. He again holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Theological Seminary, Accra and a Bachelor of Science in Laboratory Technology from the University of Cape Coast. He has also completed a certificate course in Health Administration and Management from GIMPA. His research focuses on the nexus between health and religion and its potential impact on the care of the aged.
Prof. John Kwaku Opoku is a Catholic Priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi. He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Religious Studies – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He has a B.A. in the study of Religion and Sociology (Legon, Ghana), an M.A. in Intercultural Theology (Radboud Universiteit-Nijmegen), a Master of Bioethics (Medical Colleges of Radboud Universiteit-Nijmegen, Catholic University of Leuven-Belgium, the Universities of Basel and Padova -Switzerland and Italy respectively) and a Ph.D. in Theology and Health (Radboud Universiteit-Nijmegen). His areas of specialization are Pastoral Theology, Bioethics, and Religion and Health. Email: kofidei2012@gmail.com
Ofori, Seth Oteng & John Kwaku Opoku . “Integrating Spirituality into Healthcare Plan of the Aged – A Case Study of the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Ghana,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 10 no.4 (2024): 106-120. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241045
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
