Objective: This paper considers the relationship between successful ageing and spiritual journey. It proposes that the current dominant theories of successful aging advanced by social gerontologists focus on longevity, health, community living and compression of morbidity to a degree that masks the real task of old age – to pursue the spiritual journey.
Design: The paper is a philosophical discussion and polemic which criticizes the current gerontological theories of successful ageing using a theological perspective and drawing on a selection of relevant research projects including the authors own longitudinal qualitative.
Materials and Methods: The paper is part of the work of Spirited Scotland. This is a government funded program of research and development, linked to the development of health service chaplaincy and the promotion of patient centred care. The program uses an action research method surveying spiritual need and response across Scotland in various health and social care settings.
Results: The paper makes a number of assertions. Spiritual issues are now set in a context of declining church attendance and increasing interest in secular spirituality. The evidence based paradigm of medicine is joined by a methodology that allows intuition to have a status. The spiritual journey is an anthropological and biological universal. The idea of successful ageing is linked currently to longevity and retention of middle aged attributes rather than attention to the work of old age. The recognition of the relationship between successful aging and spiritual journey gives staff and carers a method of care that involves facilitating rather than “doing”. Those older people with dementia have equal needs to do their spiritual work.
Conclusion: It is to the great advantage of health care institutions to embrace spirituality, since it offers a way in which individuals can recognize responsibility for themselves. This avoids placing all responsibility for health on health care professionals shoulders. Creating an environment where spiritual journey and successful aging is legitimated and facilitated can only support patients and staff to find the balance between self and social/health institution and gives staff a method of caring that goes beyond competencies.
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