Spiritual needs among Koreans and Americans with advanced chronic illnesses: A cultural comparison

Spirituality in Oncology: Relations between Spirituality, Its Facets, and Psychological and Demographic Factors in Cancer Patients in Germany

INTRODUCTION

Cancer diagnoses are constantly increasing in clinical practice. Therefore, more and more patients are interested in how they can actively participate in the process of treatment. Spirituality represents a hidden issue of the population, which counts as a branch of complementary and alternative treatment. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate whether there are associations between spirituality and demographic and psychosocial factors, as well as religious beliefs, in cancer patients.

METHODS

We conducted a survey with 451 participants in 10 oncology centers between March and July 2021. A composition of the following 9 different questionnaires was used to collect data on spirituality, demographics, resilience, self-efficiency, life satisfaction, and sense of coherence: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp12), General Life Satisfaction Short Scale (L-1), Resilienzskala Kurzform (RS-13), Sense of Coherence Scale - Leipziger Kurzform (SOC-L9), Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit Kurzskala (AKSU), Adolescent Food Habits Checklist, Likert-Scale of daily activities, questionnaire of the Working group Prävention und Integrative Onkologie (PRiO), and personal opinion on the cause of the disease. Calculated data and analyzed group differences using ANOVA Bonferroni were used to test associations between spirituality and the variables studied. For more detailed examination of spirituality, we took a closer look at the different components of spirituality - peace, meaning, and faith - and their relation to each other (three-factor spirituality analyses).

RESULTS

Higher spirituality scores in total as well as meaning, peace, and faith were each associated with higher levels of resilience and life satisfaction. Higher religious belief was found to be associated with higher spiritual attitudes. High personal self-efficiency was found in people with higher spiritual beliefs in general as well as higher meaning and peace. Meaning and peace emerge as essential components of spiritual well-being and show a stronger association with expressions of general spirituality than faith.

CONCLUSION

Spirituality takes a crucial role among the resources of life-threatening diseases. As such, further research is needed to expand and integrate patient options into a modernized concept of care. Our data indicate that higher spiritual well-being is associated with a more tolerant approach to illness. Thus, addressing spiritual needs in therapy is associated with better psychological adjustment to the individual situation and reduces negative distress. To promote spiritual needs in the future, cognitive as well as affective components of spirituality should be emphasized.

Assessment of spiritual needs in cancer patients: A cross-sectional study

Introduction

Addressing the spiritual needs of patients is an essential component of holistic care in nursing. Acknowledging the spiritual needs of cancer patients enhances the performance of clinical caregivers in providing quality services to such patients. Therefore, caregivers successfully fulfill or decrease the patients' needs and thus increase their adaptation to crises.

Methods

The present cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the spiritual needs of cancer patients. In this study, 96 cancer patients were selected from Ayatollah Khansari Hospital in Arak, Iran. The required data were collected through a demographic information form and the Persian version of the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire.

Ethical Considerations

Participants' verbal consent to participate in the study was obtained, and they were assured of anonymity and confidentiality.

Results

In the present study, the mean age of the participants was 47.82 ± 14.34 years. The frequency distribution of respondents by gender was 36 males (37.5%) and 60 females (62.5%). The mean scores of spiritual needs in the domains of religious needs, need for inner peace, existential needs, and need for giving/generativity were 12.03 ± 3.18, 7.26 ± 3.26, 4.61 ± 2.96, and 4.06 ± 2.32, respectively. The highest and lowest mean values were associated with religious needs and need for giving/generativity, respectively. Religious needs showed a significantly positive relationship with gender, occupation, and the type of treatment (P < 0.05). Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between the need for peace and level of education (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The recognition of the spiritual needs of cancer patients is the first step in prioritizing and planning to provide spiritual care to these patients and supporting them in adapting to and coping with the disease. Therefore, nurses need to acquire the fundamental knowledge and skills required to identify these needs.

Communicating with Persons Who Express Spiritual Struggle at the End of Life

This paper provides practical suggestions for how palliative care clinicians can address the expressions of spiritual struggle voiced by patients and their loved ones. In addition to practical tips for listening and responding, ethical guidance and opportunities for self-reflection related to spiritual care are briefly discussed. Principles to guide practice when the clinician is listening and responding to a patient expressing spiritual struggle include being non-directive, honoring (vs. judging) the patient's spiritual or religious experience, keeping the conversation patient-centered, focusing on the core theme of what the patient is expressing presently, using the patient's terminology and framing, and responding "heart to heart" or "head to head" to align with the patient. Ultimately, the goal of a healing response from a spiritual care generalist is to allow the patient to "hear" or "see" themselves, to gain self-awareness. To converse with patients about spirituality in an ethical manner, the clinician must first assess the patient's spiritual needs and preferences and then honor these.