Religion, Spirituality, and Coping During the Pandemic: Perspectives of Dementia Caregivers.
Katherine Carroll Britt, Kathy C Richards, Kavita Radhakrishnan and 4 others
PMID 35912847WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers described faith as helping them and their loved ones with dementia cope during social distancing, but older adults lost in-person services and struggled with virtual options because hearing, writing, or technology limits.
Key findings
01All 11 caregivers identified themselves as religious or spiritual, and 7 of 11 said their loved one with dementia was religious or spiritual.
02Six of the seven caregivers who called their loved one religious or spiritual reported a substantial reduction in attending religious services, and only two older adults could watch services virtually.
03Six of the 11 caregivers reported that religion and spirituality helped their loved one with dementia cope with restrictions, and caregivers described these practices as calming and mood-supporting.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 11 caregivers were interviewed, so the themes may not apply to other families, regions, or faiths. The study did not ask the older adults with dementia themselves, so it reflects caregiver perspectives rather than patient experience. It was a convenience sample from central Texas, with limited diversity and faith representation. Qualitative interviews can be affected by recall bias, self-selection bias, or investigator bias. The paper describes caregiver reports, not a tested intervention or measured clinical outcome.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was supported by a National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging supplement, and one author received support from Jonas Philanthropy.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these reports as proof that spiritual practices improve dementia outcomes. The study interviewed 11 caregivers, did not ask the older adults themselves, and did not measure clinical outcomes.