Abstract
The church has played an integral role in the African-American community for a number of years. With the growth in population of African-American older adults living with dementia, it is critical for the church to understand how they can support these individuals in continuing their engagement in meaningful religious activities. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how to design or modify worship services to support African-Americans living with dementia. Interviews were conducted with church leaders, current and former caregivers, and service providers (n = 12). Analysis of their responses revealed worship services should include components in relation to the following categories: “simplicity,” “support,” “imagery and sound,” and “music.” Although participants held different views on the delivery of worship services for persons living with dementia, interview results provided key elements on how worship services can be meaningful and supportive of African-Americans living with dementia.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Agli, O., Bailly, N., & Ferrand, C. (2015). Spirituality and religion in older adults with dementia: A systematic review. International Psychogeriatrics,27(5), 715–725. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610214001665.
Alzheimer’s Association. (2019). Facts and figures. Retrieved from https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures.
Assari, S. (2013). Race and ethnicity, religion involvement, church-based social support and subjective health in United States: A case of moderated mediation. International Journal of Preventive Medicine,4(2), 208–217.
Assari, S., & Moghani Lankarani, M. (2018). Secular and religious social support better protect Blacks than Whites against depressive symptoms. Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland),8(5), 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8050046.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology,3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Alzheimer’s disease. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/alzheimers.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018) U.S. burden of Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias to double by 2060. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0920-alzheimers-burden-double-2060.html.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Alzheimer’s disease. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm.
Chatters, L. M., Taylor, R. J., Bullard, K. M., & Jackson, J. S. (2009). Race and ethnic differences in religious involvement: African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. Ethnic and Racial Studies,32(7), 1143–1163. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870802334531.
Clayton, J. (1991). Let there be life: An approach to worship with Alzheimer’s patients and their families. Journal of Pastoral Care,45, 177–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234099104500209.
Despoina, M., Marianna, T., Moses, G., & Magda, T. (2018). Differences in religiosity among cognitively intact, mildly cognitively impaired, and mildly demented elderly, and its possible relationship with depressive mood. Applied Nursing Research,43, 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2018.07.006.
Ellor, J. W., Stettner, J., & Spath, H. (1987). Ministry with the confused elderly. Journal of Religion, Spirituality, and Aging,4(2), 21–32.
Epps, F., Brewster, G., Alexander, K., Choe, J., Heidbreder, V., & Hepburn, K. (2019). Dementia-friendly faith village worship services to support African American families: Research protocol. Research in Nursing & Health,42, 189–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21940.
Epps, F., Skemp, L., & Specht, J. K. (2016). How do we promote health?: From the words of African American older adults with dementia and their family members. Research in Gerontological Nursing,9(6), 278–287. https://doi.org/10.3928/19404921-20160928-01.
Epps, F., & Williams, I. C. (2018). The importance of religiosity to the well-being of African American older adults living with dementia. Journal of Applied Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464818820773.
Given, L. M. (2008). The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (Vols. 1-0). Thousand Oaks, SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.
Hamilton, J. B., Galbraith, K. V., Best, N. C., Worthy, V. C., & Moore, L. T. (2015). African American cancer survivors’ use of religious beliefs to positively influence the utilization of cancer care. Journal of Religion and Health,54(5), 1856–1869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9948-6.
Hamilton, J. B., Worthy, V. C., Kurtz, M. J., Cudjoe, J., & Johnstone, P. A. (2016). Using Religious Songs as an Integrative and Complementary Therapy for the Management of Psychological Symptoms Among African American Cancer Survivors. Cancer Nursing,39(6), 488–494. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0000000000000335.
Heo, G. J., & Koeske, G. (2013). The role of religious coping and race in Alzheimer’s disease caregiving. Journal of Applied Gerontology,32(5), 582–604. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464811433484.
Hepburn, K., & Johnson, T. (2014). Alzheimer’s disease and dementias. In E. L. Idler (Ed.), Religion as a social determinant of public health (pp. 396-407). New York: Oxford University Press.
Jing, W., Willis, R., & Feng, Z. (2016). Factors influencing quality of life of elderly people with dementia and care implications: A systematic review. Archives of Gerontology Geriatrics,66, 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2016.04.009.
Katsuno, T. (2003). Personal spirituality of persons with early-stage dementia: Is it related to perceived quality of life? Dementia,2(3), 315–335.
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of Religion and Health. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195118667.001.0001.
Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1986). But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. Naturalistic Evaluation, 30, 73–84.
Morano, C. L., & King, D. (2005). Religiosity as a mediator of caregiver well-being: Does ethnicity make a difference? Journal of Gerontological Social Work,45(1–2), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1300/J083v45n01_05.
Morris, J., & Robinson, D. (1996). Community and Christianity in the Black Church. Counseling and Values,41(1), 56–69. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-007X.1996.tb00863.x.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2018). Autism spectrum disorder. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml.
Neergaard, M. A., Olesen, F., Andersen, R. S., & Sondergaard, J. (2009). Qualitative description—The poor cousin of health research? BMC Medical Methodology,9, 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-9-52.
Pew Research Center. (2014). 2014 religious landscape study. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.
Plunkett, R., & Chen, P. (2016). Supporting healthy dementia culture: An exploratory study of the church. Journal of Religion and Health,55(6), 1917–1928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0165-8.
Reese, A. M., Thorpe, R. J., Bell, C. N., Bowie, J. V., & LaVeist, T. A. (2012). The effect of religious service attendance on race differences in depression: findings from the EHDIC-SWB study. Journal of Urban Health,89(3), 510–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9659-1.
Sandelowski, M. (2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health,23(4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240X(200008)23:4%3c334:AID-NUR9%3e3.0.CO;2-G.
Sandelowski, M. (2010). What’s in a name? Qualitative description revisited. Research in Nursing & Health,33, 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20362.
Sung, H., Chang, A., & Lee, W. (2010). A preferred music listening intervention to reduce anxiety in older adults with dementia in nursing homes. Journal of Clinical Nursing,19, 1056–1064. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.03016.x.
Tobin, G. A., & Begley, C. M. (2004). Methodological rigour within a qualitative framework. Journal of Advanced Nursing,48, 388–396. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03207.x.
Tufford, L., & Newman, P. (2012). Bracketing in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Social Work,11(1), 80–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325010368316.
Unantenne, N., Warren, N., Canaway, R., & Mandwerson, L. (2013). The strength to cope: Spirituality and faith in chronic disease. Journal of Religion and Health,52(4), 1147–1161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9554-9.
Alzheimer’s Association. (n.d.). African-Americans and Alzheimer’s: The silent epidemic. Retrieved from https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/african-americans-silent-epidemic-r.pdf.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge participants of Phase 1.
Funding
This work is supported by the Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant‐Diversity (AARG‐D‐18‐56229) and Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Pilot Award (P50 AG025688).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted. Georgia State University Institutional Review Board reviewed and approved this study (IRB# H18283).
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Epps, F., Choe, J., Alexander, K. et al. Designing Worship Services to Support African-American Persons Living with Dementia. J Relig Health 59, 2163–2176 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-00993-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-00993-x