The elderly health based on the teachings of Islam and the recommendations of the World Health Organization

Considering the growing number of elderly people, the prevalence of emotional and psychological problems among them, and the lack of specialized services for the elderly, attention to spirituality and faith in dealing with these conditions and adherence to religious teachings in relation to the care and support of the elderly can be effective in reducing these problems. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the teachings of Islam and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the health of the elderly.

In this narrative review study, Persian and English articles were searched without time limit in international databases such as Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Google Scholar. English keywords including Islamic Health, Aging Population, Mental Health, and Elderly Health were used individually and combined and the corresponding Persian keywords in Persian information databases such as SID, Irandoc and Magiran. In the end, 23 articles were included in the study.

The teachings of Islam include recommendations on the role of the family in caring for the elderly, the duty of society towards the elderly, the duty of government towards the elderly, the education and empowerment of the elderly, and honoring and respecting the elderly in all aspects of the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of the elderly, which are also included in the WHO's guidelines on the care of the elderly.

What can be derived from the teachings of Islam is the emphasis on the dignity of the elderly in Islam and the attention to the material and spiritual needs of this group. It is suggested that, in accordance with the WHO's guidelines, consideration of the teachings of Islam in the form of the spiritual health dimension in the pillars of primary health care should be a priority in the health and treatment system of Islamic countries.