TY - JOUR
T1 - Family Spirituality and Family Health Among Korean-American Elderly Couples
AU - Kim, Suk Sun
AU - Kim-Godwin, Yeoun Soo
AU - Koenig, Harold G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is a part of the postdoctoral fellow research of the first author from the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health, Duke University Medical Center, which was funded by John Templeton Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge editing by Dr. Beverly Rosenthal and Dr. John Godwin.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - Spirituality has been regarded as an individual and private matter; consequently, research on spirituality as a family phenomenon has been largely neglected. In addition, most published research has been focused on Western cultures. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of family spirituality and how it influences health among Korean-American elderly couples who are the first generation to reside in the Southeastern USA. A thematic and interpretive data analysis method was used. Thirteen elderly couples (N = 26) participated in in-depth individual interviews in Korean with the primary author. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and then translated by two bilingual researchers with a background in Korean and American culture. Three main themes of family spirituality were identified: (1) family togetherness, (2) family interdependence, and (3) family coping. Also, participants reported that family spirituality strengthened family health by fostering family commitment, improving emotional well-being, developing new healthy behaviors, and providing healing experiences. This finding implies that healthcare providers need to assess family spiritual issues of elderly couples to maximize their strengths for coping with health problems. As our society becomes more culturally diverse, healthcare providers should seek to understand family spirituality from different cultural perspectives to develop a more holistic approach to care.
AB - Spirituality has been regarded as an individual and private matter; consequently, research on spirituality as a family phenomenon has been largely neglected. In addition, most published research has been focused on Western cultures. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of family spirituality and how it influences health among Korean-American elderly couples who are the first generation to reside in the Southeastern USA. A thematic and interpretive data analysis method was used. Thirteen elderly couples (N = 26) participated in in-depth individual interviews in Korean with the primary author. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and then translated by two bilingual researchers with a background in Korean and American culture. Three main themes of family spirituality were identified: (1) family togetherness, (2) family interdependence, and (3) family coping. Also, participants reported that family spirituality strengthened family health by fostering family commitment, improving emotional well-being, developing new healthy behaviors, and providing healing experiences. This finding implies that healthcare providers need to assess family spiritual issues of elderly couples to maximize their strengths for coping with health problems. As our society becomes more culturally diverse, healthcare providers should seek to understand family spirituality from different cultural perspectives to develop a more holistic approach to care.
KW - Elderly couples
KW - Family health
KW - Family spirituality
KW - Korean-Americans
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84961215357&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10943-015-0107-5
DO - 10.1007/s10943-015-0107-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 26330374
AN - SCOPUS:84961215357
SN - 0022-4197
VL - 55
SP - 729
EP - 746
JO - Journal of Religion and Health
JF - Journal of Religion and Health
IS - 2
ER -