Research On Casework Intervention In The Spiritual Support Of The Widowed Elderly Under The Ecological System Theory

As China’s economy and society continue to develop,the material needs of the elderly have been basically met,but their spiritual needs still face significant gaps.The spiritual needs of the elderly are characterized by uncertainty and high levels,and widowed elderly are particularly faced with the pain of bereavement,for which they need more understanding and support.Therefore,families and society should pay more attention to the spiritual needs of the elderly,especially widowed elderly,and provide them with necessary spiritual care.Based on the ecosystem theory,this study found that the problem of spiritual care for widowed elderly mainly involves two aspects.Firstly,at the micro level,widowed elderly have outdated views on old age care,while at the meso level,families face obstacles in providing psychological care for them,and at the macro level,society’s formal support for widowed elderly is insufficient.Secondly,there is a lack of coordinated interaction between different hierarchical systems.Specifically,at the micro level,the individual system has difficulty in changing roles and cannot actively seek support from meso and macro systems.At the meso level,the family system has a cognitive bias towards spiritual care,not only ignoring the spiritual needs of widowed elderly in the micro system but also neglecting the support and complementary role of the macro system in providing spiritual care for families.Finally,at the macro level,the social system is unable to intervene in the micro individual and meso family systems due to the uncertainty of spiritual care and the imperfection of laws.This study employed a case work approach,which included interviews to understand the spiritual care status of the service recipients.The social support scale and the Hamilton Depression Scale were used to collect information on their social support and emotional status.The study found that the service recipients had three needs in terms of spiritual care: psychological,emotional,and network building and consolidation.Based on the guidance of the ecosystem theory,the intervention plan was divided into two stages.In the first stage,social workers provided intervention services for the service recipients from the three aspects of micro self-understanding,meso family relationships,and macro social support.In the second stage,social workers linked the micro,meso,and macro systems of the service recipients through activities to form a virtuous interactive ecosystem,thereby enhancing their ability for spiritual self-nurturing,strengthening the spiritual care ability of their families,linking community resources,and broadening their social support network,ultimately improving the spiritual care status of widowed elderly.Through case assessment,the study found that this service basically eliminated the negative emotions caused by bereavement in the widowed elderly and improved their spiritual care status through the virtuous interactive ecosystem established for them.Finally,recommendations were made from three perspectives: micro,meso,and macro,suggesting that widowed elders should update their concepts of aging,their families should provide more emotional support,and the government should formulate more supportive policies.