title: Postcards to God: exploring spiritual expression among disabled older adults.
abstract: Postcards to God was a creative method to allow individuals to express their spirituality. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of this innovative method. At a skilled nursing facility in a geriatric residence, 19 older disabled workshop participants created collage and message "Postcards to God", and completed a brief survey. Postcard content and construction were coded and analyzed using qualitative methods around self-reports along two attitudinal dimensions: a) making a postcard to God; and b) level of religiousness. Spiritual and religious dimensions were related to postcard thematic content. Postcards were used for expressions of spirituality and prayer across all levels of self-reported religiousness. The Postcards project seems like useful way to facilitate spiritual expression. If validated in further study, this method may prove a useful way to promote spiritual expression in a variety of older and frail populations.
authors.affiliation: Lighthouse International, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Sarah B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Laditka
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities; D029181:Spirituality