An Examination of Faith Community Nursing Interventions in the Promotion of Successful Aging
Open Access
- Author:
- Hixson, Lina Beth
- Graduate Program:
- Nursing
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 16, 2016
- Committee Members:
- Janice Lee Penrod, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Janice Lee Penrod, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Susan Jayne Loeb, Committee Member
Edgar Paul Yoder, Committee Member
Jenny Trinitapoli, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Faith Community Nursing
Faith Community Nurse
Successful Aging
Older Adult
Multidimensional Model
Interventions - Abstract:
- Background: Faith Community Nursing is a specialty nursing practice providing ongoing supportive health care to community dwellers of all ages. Practicing within the context of a community of faith, these nurses focus on health promotion and disease prevention using their expertise to combine spiritual and physical dimensions of care. As the population of Americans continues to age at a rapid rate, the number of older adults is expected to more than double by the year 2060. Many older individuals live with one or more chronic diseases, however living with a chronic disease does not always require inpatient or home care services. Therefore, other strategies to maintain health, despite chronic disease, are needed. Recent research has been conducted on the range of interventions provided by Faith Community Nurses (FCNs). What is less known is how FCNs are contributing to the health and well-being of community-dwelling older adults in the support of successful aging? Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe ways in which FCNs contribute to the health and well-being of older adults to successful aging as well as identify gaps in supportive health care to serve this growing population. Methods: To examine interventions provided by FCNs, with a specific focus on older adults, a secondary analysis of data from the Henry Ford Health System Faith Community Nursing/Health Ministries Documentation and Reporting System was conducted. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the distribution of interventions across age groups, and then data was filtered into two distinct age groupings, 0-65 years and 66 years and older, to focus on interventions specifically involving older adults. Data from the 66 years and older age group was then mapped to the multidimensional model of successful aging to reveal how FCNs contribute to the health and well-being of older adults. Results: Across all age groups, FCNs are promoting health. Large numbers of people are participating in education and support group activities. Nutrition education and healthy lifestyle support groups are two of the most frequently attended group activities. However, when examining group activities for older adults, there appears to be no specific education or support group focused on the 66 years and older age group. The spiritual aspect of care begins to emerge as a support group activity for all ages, and the unique specialty of Faith Community Nursing starts to become more evident in individual interventions. Here, individual intervention contacts with older adults more than double compared to the 0-65 age group, and the intervention of active listening becomes the primary focus. One of the unique features of Faith Community Nursing practice is lack of time constraints for interactions with clients as well as the spiritual aspect of care. When mapped to the model domains, a cluster of group and individual interventions do align with the multidimensional model of successful aging suggesting FCNs are contributing to the health and well-being of older adults. Conclusion: Considering more than half of the clients seen by FCNs in this study were age 66 and older, there does not exist a clear delineation of education and support group activities specifically for older adults. Greater effort could be put forth in promoting physical and mental health for this age group as well as providing opportunities for social interaction exposure. This study informs and advances research in this specialty practice. It also highlights the contributions FCNs are making to promote health and prevent disease for all age groups. Findings from this study provide recommendations to simplify electronic documentation to improve precision for future analysis and the need for greater care coordination between FCNs and nurse navigators. Further research on the linkage between Faith Community Nursing interventions and outcomes for persons with chronic disease is needed.