Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Amir Musarezaie
- . Homayoon Naji-Esfahani
- . Tahere Momeni-Ghale ghasemi
- . Jahangir Karimian 1
- . Amroallah Ebrahimi 2
1 Faculty of Management and Medical Information, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2 Center for psychosomatic research, school of medicine Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Abstract
Background: Spiritual well‑being is well‑recognized as a factor that affects cancer patients’
quality of life, quality of care, and satisfaction. There is evidence that supports the fact that
patients’ spiritual needs are associated with better quality of care, higher hospice utilization,
and less aggressive care at the end of life. However, few studies have examined the Spiritual
well‑being (SWB) in cancer patients. Less is known about spirituality; furthermore, no published
research about SWB and its relationship with demographic parameters in breast cancer
patients exists; this made us carry out this project. Materials and Methods: This cross‑sectional
study was a descriptive – analytical one, conducted on 297 breast cancer patients, with
a simple sampling methodology. The data collection instrument included a questionnaire
containing two parts (demographic information and standard SWB Scale questionnaire). The
data were analyzed with 95% confidence by SPSS18, using descriptive and analytic statistics.
Results: According to the results of the present study, SWB of most of the study subjects (52.52%)
was at a moderate level. Results showed that the average score for religious aspect of spiritual
well‑being (RWB) was 51.38 ± 8.17 for 60, average score for the existential aspect of spiritual
well‑being (EWB) was 42.47 ± 10.21 for 60, and the total score of SWB was 93.69 ± 10.04 for 120.
Based on the study findings, there was a statistically significant correlation between the SWB and
age (P = 0.03, r = 0.59), educational level (P = 0.04, r = −0.58), and marital status (P = 0.001), of
breast cancer patients. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the SWB of
most study subjects was at a moderate level. Furthermore, according to the results there was a
correlation between some important demographic parameters in women with breast cancer and
SWB. Hence, it is necessary for the treatment team to assess and improve the SWB of patients;
meanwhile the role of nurses is highlighted. In fact, the nurse is the first person who can recognize
the spiritual needs of a patient and even his/her family, and can be effective in meeting the spiritual
needs and improving their SWB. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that in patients with cancer,
a holistic care plan, based on spiritual care, development, and education of patients be applied, as
it is considered to improve their SWB.
Keywords
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