RELIGIÃO E SAÚDE: A ESPIRITUALIDADE NO TRATAMENTO DE FISIOTERAPIA DOS PACIENTES IDOSOS NA UNIDADE DE SAÚDE DE CANCELAS NO MUNICÍPIO DE PRESIDENTE KENNEDY-ES

Abstract

The relationship between religion, religiosity, spirituality and health has been a topic of interest and research in several areas. Transcendental experience can manifest itself through religious beliefs, meditation practices, reflection, compassion and a sense of purpose in life. Initially, it is hypothesized that this tripod can have a significant impact on people's physical and emotional well-being, especially in the lives of elderly patients who undergo physiotherapy treatments as a result of chronic pain. Given this scenario, the following question arose: how do religion and spirituality influence the physiotherapeutic treatment of elderly patients with chronic pain, at the Cancelas health unit, in the municipality of Presidente Kennedy – ES? In this sense, this work has the general objective of analyzing, through a literature review, the relationship between spirituality and the physical health of elderly people when dealing with Physiotherapy. The following specific objectives were defined: identify how the theoretical studies chosen for this analysis address spirituality and its relationship with the physical health of elderly people; investigate the impact of religiosity on the physical health of elderly people who undergo physiotherapy; investigate what elderly people say about the advantages of practicing spirituality associated with physiotherapy in dealing with functional and motor decline. As a methodology, the literature review was carried out by searching for publications indexed in the Scielo, Lilacs and Medline databases, considering the intersection of the terms spirituality/health/elderly/physiotherapy. The theoretical framework is supported by authors such as Barth, Dalgalarrondo and Koenig. The research was based on texts in Portuguese and English from dissertations and doctoral theses published in the last five years and which addressed the influence of religion in dealing with the health of elderly people. It was concluded that elderly patients often face physical and emotional challenges when undergoing physiotherapy treatments and, in this scenario, religion and spirituality can be sources of strength and resilience, helping them to deal with discomfort, pain and uncertainty.