Author Information
Terence Yow, Singapore University of Social Sciences, SingaporeTristan Gwee, Gerontological Society of Singapore, Singapore
Joseph Eio, FILOS Community Services, Singapore
Kim Meng Wang, Presbyterian Community Social Services, Singapore
Abstract
While the Biopsychosocial-Spiritual (BPSS) model is a standard framework used in gerontological social work, practitioners often report feeling unequipped to address the spiritual domain, particularly in culturally diverse Asian contexts. This practice-based research, conducted with 11 practitioners from Presbyterian Community Social Services and FILOS in Singapore, explored this gap through two focus groups investigating practitioners’ understanding of and engagement with spirituality among older adults. Findings revealed three primary reasons for practitioner unpreparedness: a lack of formal training, the inadequacy of current BPSS assessment methods, and conceptual ambiguity conflating spirituality with religion. Practitioners further identified barriers including language and cognitive limitations, fear of proselytization, and insufficient knowledge of other faiths. In response, participants co-developed an innovative toolkit featuring conversational cards (both physical and digital) designed with culturally nuanced, open-ended questions exploring themes of meaning, hope, connection, and legacy without Western or religious bias. This paper reports on the first two phases of an ongoing practice-research project, including the participatory design of the “Inner Garden Spirituality Conversational Cards.” The toolkit is currently being piloted and validated with older adult clients. The goal is to disseminate this validated, culturally sensitized resource to other agencies, empowering practitioners to provide more holistic and person-centered spiritual care.
Paper Information
Conference: AGen2026Stream: Aging and Gerontology
This paper is part of the AGen2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
Full Paper
View / Download the full paper in a new tab/window
To cite this article:
Yow T., Gwee T., Eio J., & Wang K. (2026) Bridging the Spiritual Gap: A Practice-Based Approach to Developing a Culturally Appropriate Spiritual Needs Assessment Tool for Older Adults in Singapore ISSN: 2432-4183 The Asian Conference on Aging & Gerontology 2026: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 95-110) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4183.2026.8
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4183.2026.8
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress