Preface. 1. The spiritual dimension of ageing and people in need of care. 2. The studies of frail older people and staff in aged care. 3. Assessment of spirituality and spiritual needs: A developmental approach. 4. Meaning of Life and frailty in the later years. 5. Wisdom, final meaning, the spiritual journey and frail older people. 6. Spiritual reminiscence: provisional and final meanings in frail older people. 7. The spiritual journey and mental health amongst older adults in need of care. 8. Meeting the challenge: older people with memory loss and dementia. 9. Worship and use of ritual among older people: different cultures, different religions; working in multi-faith and multicultural societies. 10. Vulnerability and transcendence, living in a disintegrating body and failure to thrive. 11. Vulnerability, transcendence and living with physical health problems. 12. Relationship and intimacy needs among nursing home residents. 13. Grief, death, dying and spirituality in an aged care facility. 14. Ethical issues in the fourth age of life. 15. The model of spiritual growth and care in the fourth age of life. 16. References. Appendix 1: Assessment of the Spiritual Needs of Older Adults - 1st Level. Appendix 2: Assessment of the Spiritual Needs of Older Adults - 2nd Level. Appendix 3: Group topics for spiritual reminiscence. References. Index.

Spiritual Growth and Care in the Fourth Age of Life explores the spiritual dimension of ageing and investigates the role of pastoral and spiritual care in helping the frail elderly cope with end-of-life issues.
Focusing on the experience of nursing home residents and anecdotes gathered in interviews, MacKinlay sensitively presents the struggles facing older people in need of care, such as loss of independence and privacy. Her findings show that despite ill health, loneliness and depression, older people near the end of their lives find meaning and support in (re)discovering their spirituality, and that this is not just the experience of those in care facilities, but of older people more generally. The book includes a useful chapter on spiritual assessment, providing carers with information on how to recognise the need for care.
This book will be of interest to nurses, care workers, pastoral support professionals and anyone else working with older people.

Elizabeth MacKinlay, an Anglican priest, is Director of the Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies in Canberra, Australia, and Chair of the Australian Capital Territory Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing. She is Professor at the Charles Sturt University School of Theology. She has previously authored The Spiritual Dimension of Ageing, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.