Having faith.
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. A researcher finds that how older people approach faith as they approach death makes a big difference. Monika Ardelt of the University of Florida looked at people who felt close to a higher power – she called them intrinsically religious. And she looked at people who showed up at houses of worship mostly for social reasons – she called them extrinsically religious. Her study in Research on Aging was supported by the National Institutes of Health. "An intrinsically religious person who views everything through a religious lens has found a cosmic meaning and purpose in life. And so they're OK also with aging, with dying and with death." (14 seconds) She says the extrinsically religious faced doubts that the intrinsically religious had resolved. Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: August, 15 2006 | 
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