Effects of Islamic-Based Spiritual Mindfulness Exercises (Zikr) on Depression Level among Older People at Nursing Homes in Semarang

Abstract

Older people will experience some stressors due to various problems occurring at the elderly age. The older people, who are unable to adjust and assume that the experienced stressors are a heavy burden and disrupt their life, will tend to experience depression. Mindfulness is a method which can be used to increase the spirituality values that support the relationship between the individuals and their creators. Islamic spiritual mindfulness directs individuals to believe that prayer, endeavor, and trust are parts of healing method. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of Islamic-based spiritual mindfulness exercises (Zikir) on depression level among older people at nursing homes in Semarang. This study employed a pre-posttest quasi-experimental design with a control group. The samples included 62 older people who were purposively recruited from Pucang Gading and Wening Wardoyo Ungaran nursing homes. The intervention of Islamic-based spiritual mindfulness was administered to the respondents in the intervention group. The data were collected using Geriatric Depression Scales and analyzed using Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests. The results showed a p-value of 0.000 with α (0.05), meaning that there were effects of Islamic-based spiritual mindfulness exercises (zikr) on the level of depression among the elderly. This study concluded that Islamic spiritual mindfulness could increase the ability of the elderly to control their negative thoughts and emotions to create peace of mind and positive feelings in the elderly. Keywords: Depression, Older people, Nursing Home, Islamic Spirituality (zikr) References: 129 (1995-2018)