Faith and mental health in an oncology population

Hospitalized Patients' Responses to Offers of Prayer

Most Americans pray; many pray about their health. When they are hospitalized, however, do patients want an offer of prayer from a healthcare provider? This project allowed for the measurement of hospitalized patient's responses to massage therapists' offers of a colloquial prayer after a massage. After the intervention, 78 patients completed questionnaires that elicited quantitative data that were analyzed using uni- and bivariate statistical analyses. In this sample, 88% accepted the offer of prayer, 85% found it helpful, and 51% wanted prayer daily. Patients may welcome prayer, as long as the clinician shows "genuine kindness and respect."

A New Questionnaire (QRFPC25) Regarding the Religiosity and Spirituality in People with Life-Threatening Disease: Reliability and Validity in a Population of Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

The development of a questionnaire (QRFPC25) assessing the religiosity of cancer patients. The method used for the questionnaire comprises seven multi-item and three single-item scales formed from a 25-question module. The questionnaire was completed on-site and a week after antineoplastic therapy. The final sample included 156 patients. The main topics of the QRFPC25 are the following: worship, relationship with the divine, spiritual discussion, hope, participation in holly communion, faith, life after death, love, bioethics and global quality of life (QoL). The average time of both times taken to complete the questionnaire was approximately 10 min. All multi-item scales met the minimal standards of reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient ≥.70) before or after treatment. Test-retest reliability in terms of the intraclass correlation coefficient was also satisfactory (p < 0.01). Validity was assured by inter-item correlations and correlations with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer's Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30, version 3.0), along with factor analysis which showed eight factors incorporated in the model. The QRFPC25 is a reliable and valid gauge for the assessment of religiosity in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.