Investigating the role of religion and spirituality on the mental health of the older adults (Systematic Review)

Introduction: Increasing Elderly Population is being an issue in developing countries like Iran. The purpose of this study investigating the role of religion and spirituality on the mental health of the older adults.Method: Databases have been PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, SID, and Iran Doc. The main keywords were role, religion, spirituality, mental health and older people that were searched in the published papers during ۲۰۰۰-۲۰۲۰. About ۱۰ articles were found.Result: The results of the studies showed that the benefits of spirituality and religion on mental health. The results showed that religion and spirituality can have a positive effect on the physical and mental health of the elderly. Belief in supernatural power helps people to come up with coping strategies to accept their illness, maintain social interactions, have a positive meaning in life, increase quality of life, maintain life expectancy, and have positive thoughts about themselves.Conclusion: According to the results observed in the studies, religion and spirituality can be useful in improving the mental and physical health and quality of life of the elderly. Since mental disorders are very common in the elderly, it is possible to provide the ground for mental health by using religion and spirituality by creating an appropriate and ideal value system.

Keywords:

Role , Religion , Spirituality , Mental Health , Older Adults