Religion and health in the elderly

Abstract

Thailand has entered into aging society and the number of elderly people tends to increase continuously.This growth trend results in a demand for care and health expenditures. Thus, the issues on aging are extensivelyinvestigated to promote living a long and healthy life, including independence from economic and social burden.It is well-documented that religion is closely related to health of elders. This article aims to review the currentknowledge regarding the concept of religion and health, the role and positive/ negative effects of religion on health,and gerontology theory related to religion in order to provide some information for further study on aging in Thaisociety.

Key words: Religion Health Elderly