scholarly journals Exploring the relationship between spiritual well-being and death anxiety in patients with gynecological cancer: a cross-section study

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Feng ◽  
Xingcan Liu ◽  
Tangwei Lin ◽  
Biru Luo ◽  
Qianqian Mou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In recent years, spiritual well-being has gradually gained the attention of health care providers in China, especially those in oncology departments, who have recognized the importance of improving spiritual well-being in cancer patients. Since most of the current research on spiritual well-being has been carried out in areas with religious beliefs, this study was conducted in the context of no development of formal religion. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between death anxiety and spiritual well-being and the related factors of spiritual well-being among gynecological cancer patients. Methods This cross-section study was conducted among 586 gynecological cancer patients. The European Organization for Research and Treatment for Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-spiritual well-being32 (EORTC QLQ-SWB32) and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (T-DAS) were used to measure spiritual well-being and death anxiety. The Multiple Linear Regression Model was used to determine the relationship between spiritual well-being and death anxiety. Results For all participants, the highest QLQ-SWB32 centesimal score was 75.13 on the Relationship with Other scale, and the lowest was 60.33 on the Relationship with Someone or Something Greater Scale. The mean Death Anxiety score was 5.31 (SD 3.18). We found that Relationship with Someone or Something Greater was the only scale not associated with death anxiety. Overall, patients with lower death anxiety have a higher level of spiritual well-being. Besides, a high Relationship with Other score was associated with living with a partner (B = 2.471, P < 0.001) and married (B = -6.475, P = 0.001). Patients with higher Global-SWB were retired (B = 0.387, P = 0.019). Conclusions Our study found that the spiritual well-being of patients with gynecological cancer in China was no worse than in other countries with religious beliefs and patients with lower death anxiety have a higher level of spiritual well-being. Clinical staff should pay attention to the spiritual health of cancer patients, and spiritual care should be regarded as an essential element in cancer care.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quying Wen ◽  
Miaorui Jiao ◽  
Huailin Wang ◽  
Yanli Hu

Abstract Aims: The purpose of this study was to test the associations between spiritual needs, perceived social support, spiritual well-being, and quality of life (QoL) and examine the multiple mediating effects of perceived social support and spiritual well-being on the relationship between spiritual needs and QoL among patients with advanced cancer.Methods: Spiritual needs, perceived social support, spiritual well-being and QoL were assessed using self-report questionnaires among 286 cancer patients in a tertiary oncology hospital. The mediation model was analysed using the SPSS PROCESS procedure, and indirect effects were evaluated with bootstrapping.Results: QoL was positively correlated with spiritual needs (r=0.315, p<0.01), perceived social support (r=0.451, p<0.01) and spiritual well-being (r=0.636, p<0.01). The relationship between spiritual needs and QoL was mediated by perceived social support (indirect effect: 0.063, confidence interval (CI) (0.018, 0.118)) and spiritual well-being (indirect effect: 0.068, CI (0.001, 0.155)) and serially mediated by spiritual needs and QoL (indirect effect: 0.072, CI (0.041, 0.113)).Conclusions: The results emphasize the importance of spiritual well-being and social support for cancer patients, especially those with more spiritual needs. They suggest that healthcare providers should develop strategies to enhance perceived social support and spiritual well-being when caring for cancer patients to improve patients’ QoL.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Forouhari Sedighe ◽  
Atefeh Zare ◽  
NamavarJahromi Bahia ◽  
Fereshteh Eidy ◽  
Neda Adib

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woung-Ru Tang ◽  
Chen-Yi Kao

AbstractObjective:The spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients is an important indicator of the quality of their lives and of the quality of hospice care, but no validated tools are available for assessing this indicator in Taiwan.Method:The present cross-sectional study validated the Spiritual Well-Being Scale–Mandarin version (SWBS–M) by testing its psychometric properties in 243 cancer patients from five teaching hospitals throughout Taiwan. Construct validity was tested by factor analysis and hypothesis testing. Patients' spiritual well-being and quality of life were assessed using the SWBS–M and the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQoL), respectively.Results:Overall, the SWBS–M had an internal consistency/reliability of 0.89. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the SWBS–M had an underlying two-factor structure, explaining 46.94% of the variance. SWBS–M scores correlated moderately with MQoL scores (r = 0.48, p < 0.01). Terminally ill cancer patients' spiritual well-being was inversely related to their average pain level during the previous 24 hours (r = –0.183, p = 0.006). Cancer patients' spiritual well-being also differed significantly with their experience of pain (t = –3.67, p < 0.001); terminally ill cancer patients with pain during the previous 24 hours had a lower sense of spiritual well-being than those without pain.Significance of results:Our findings support a two-factor model for the SWBS–M in terminally ill Taiwanese cancer patients. We recommend testing the psychometric properties of the SWBS–M in different patient populations to verify its factorial structure in other Asian countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher H Grossman ◽  
Joanne Brooker ◽  
Natasha Michael ◽  
David Kissane

Background: Death anxiety is a common issue in adult patients with advanced cancer and can have a large impact on quality of life and end-of-life care. Interventions are available to assist but are scarcely used in everyday practice. Aim: To assess quantitative studies on interventions for adult patients with advanced cancer suffering from death anxiety. Data sources: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and CINAHL were searched to identify quantitative or mixed studies on death anxiety or relatable existential intervention studies in advanced cancer patients published from 1990 to December 2016. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and assessed relevant studies for eligibility. Data were then extracted from included studies for analysis. Results: Nine unique quantitative studies were identified, including five randomised controlled trials, involving a total overall of 1179 advanced cancer patients. All studies were psychotherapeutic in nature and centred on existential themes such as meaning, dignity, relationships and spiritual well-being. The therapies investigated shared overlapping themes but varied in duration, therapist experience, training required and burden on patient. Heterogeneity of studies and measures prevented determination of an overall effect size. Conclusion: Interventions were identified for this clinical scenario of death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer. Therapies of short duration incorporating spiritual well-being and those evoking a sense of meaning were claimed to be the most beneficial, despite lacking rigorous statistical analysis. More high-quality studies with tailored outcome measures are required to fully evaluate the most effective interventions for death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer.


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