Spiritual Needs and Influencing Factors of Indonesian Muslims With Cancer During Hospitalization

Spiritual well-being, faith, meaning in life, peace, and purpose in life for cancer-related fatigue: systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regressions

BACKGROUND

Cancer-related fatigue is associated with spiritual distress. Spiritual well-being, characterized by the presence of factors such as meaning in life or purpose in life, seems to play an important role in the management of symptoms of cancer. Currently, the number of studies evaluating the association between cancer-related fatigue and spiritual well-being is increasing and no systematic review has been conducted.

AIM

To summarize the association between cancer-related fatigue and spiritual well-being, faith, meaning in life, peace, and purpose in life.

DESIGN

A systematic review with meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

The CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and PubMed databases were searched from inception to 9 October 2023. We considered studies evaluating the cross-sectional or longitudinal association between cancer-related fatigue and the spiritual factors above mentioned. The Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies and the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool assessed the methodological quality of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, respectively. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system rated the certainty of evidence. Meta-analyses, meta-regressions, subgroup meta-analyses, and sensitivity analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 13 studies were included and no longitudinal findings were found. One meta-analysis showed that cancer-related fatigue may be negatively correlated with spiritual well-being (r =  - 0.37 (95%CI - 0.44 to - 0.28) p < 0.01). In addition, another meta-analysis found the correlation between cancer-related fatigue and faith was not statistically significant (r =  - 0.25 (95%CI - 0.66 to 0.28) p = 0.36).

CONCLUSIONS

Cancer-related fatigue may be correlated with spiritual well-being. However, the certainty of evidence was very low across the meta-analyzed outcomes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

A negative correlation was observed between spiritual well-being and cancer-related fatigue.

The Perception of Spirituality and Its Assessment among Those with Different Health Statuses in Saudi Arabia

This study compares the perception of spirituality among individuals with different health statuses. It also describes the spiritual services and religious support in the healthcare system that are recommended by the community. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in Riyadh during the year 2021. A face-to-face questionnaire was used to obtain data from seriously ill inpatients (N = 132), chronically ill outpatients (N = 202), and healthy individuals (N = 283), which is an assessment tool designed by the investigators to meet the purpose of the study. This study was conducted in two tertiary hospitals and in the community. Participants were randomly selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The study was performed on 635 participants. A significant number of the participants agreed that the provision of spiritual services has a positive effect on patient condition. The rural population had a higher mean value on limiting the concept of spirituality to religious aspects. There is a clear tendency from all categories toward religious services. The majority of the participants support the provision of psychological services, especially if it is provided by specialized and expert spiritual care providers. The positive perception of participants about spiritual care has been reflected on the tendency toward providing spiritual services. The provision of spiritual care in healthcare systems is expected to be a necessity and not a luxury.

Current status and influencing factors of spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Spiritual needs have been associated with better physical health outcomes and provide a context for patients to gain hope and significance in coping with disease. This study aimed to understand the status of spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer and conducted a quantitative study on the relationship between patient-reported physical, psychological, and social influencing factors and spiritual needs based on a biopsychosocial-spiritual model.

METHODS

In this study, 200 oncology inpatients from Shandong Province were recruited using a convenience sampling method to conduct a cross-sectional survey using general data from December 2020 to June 2022. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between spiritual needs and cancer-related fatigue, anxiety and depression, the family care index, and social support. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between spiritual needs and the influencing factors.

RESULTS

The spiritual needs score of the patients with advanced cancer was high. Multiple regression analysis revealed that cancer-related fatigue, social support, and religious beliefs influenced the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer. Compared with married patients, widowed or divorced patients scored 8.531 points higher on spiritual needs. Cancer-related fatigue, social support, religious beliefs, and marital status (divorced or widowed) explained 21.4% of the total variation in the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer.

CONCLUSION

The spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer were significantly correlated with cancer-related fatigue, depression, social support, and other factors. Religious beliefs, marital status, cancer-related fatigue, and social support were the main factors influencing the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer. This is a quantitative study, and medical staff can provide targeted spiritual care for patients with cancer based on the above influencing factors.

Opportunities and challenges for advance care planning in strongly religious family-centric societies: a Focus group study of Indonesian cancer-care professionals

Background

Most studies on advance care planning in Asia originate in high-income Asian countries. Indonesia is a middle-income Asian country characterized by its religious devoutness and strong family ties. This study aims to explore the perspectives and experiences of Indonesian healthcare professionals on advance care planning for cancer patients.

Methods

Focus-group discussions were conducted in July and August 2019 and were analysed using thematic content analysis enhanced by dual coding and exploration of divergent views. Purposive sampling of physicians and nurses actively engaged in cancer care in a national cancer centre and a national general hospital.

Results

We included 16 physicians and 16 nurses. These participants were open to the idea of advance care planning. We further identified four aspects of this planning that the participants considered to be important: 1) the family’s role in medical decision-making; 2) sensitivity to communication norms; 3) patients’ and families’ religious beliefs regarding the control and sanctity of life; and 4) the availability of a support system for advance care planning (healthcare professionals’ education and training, public education, resource allocation, and formal regulation). Participants believed that, although family hierarchical structure and certain religious beliefs may complicate patients’ engagement in advance care planning, a considerate approach to involving family and patients’ religious perspectives in advance care planning may actually facilitate their engagement in it.

Conclusion

Indonesian healthcare professionals believed that, for culturally congruent advance care planning in Indonesia, it was essential to respect the cultural aspects of collectivism, communication norms, and patients’ religious beliefs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12904-022-01002-6.

Needs for nurses to provide spiritual care and their associated influencing factors among elderly inpatients with stroke in China: A cross-sectional quantitative study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly inpatients with stroke, and to examine the correlations among spiritual care needs, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support.

METHODS

A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used as the foundation of the study. A convenience sample of 458 elderly inpatients with stroke was selected from three hospitals in China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Scale, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Chinese Self-Transcendence Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, Student's t-test, ANOVA, non-parametric, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The total score of spiritual care needs was 29.82 ± 7.65. Spiritual care needs were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.709, p < 0.01), self-transcendence (r = 0.710, p < 0.01), and social support (r = 0.691, p < 0.01), whereas being negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = -0.587, p < 0.01). Religious beliefs, educational level, residence place, disease course, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support were found to be the main influencing factors.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

The spiritual care needs were prevalent and moderate. It is suggested that nurses should enhance spiritual care knowledge and competence, take targeted spiritual care measures according to inpatients' individual personality traits or characteristics and differences of patients, reduce their self-perceived burden and improve their spiritual well-being, self-transcendence and social support in multiple ways and levels, so as to meet their spiritual care needs to the greatest extent and enhance their spiritual comfort.

The assessment of spirituality between cancer and chronic inpatients: a cross-sectional study

PURPOSE

Spiritual well-being had a protective effect on quality of life in cancer, due to the cultural, regional, and custom differences; it was rarely been discussed between cancer and chronic diseases in Chongqing, China. We aimed at comparing the level of spirituality in two groups and discussing its factors of subjects with cancer at county regions.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was distributed to 630 inpatients who received treatment between January and December 2020 in Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital. In addition to basic demographic data, spirituality was measured using the Chinese version of Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp-12). The mean, standard deviation, independent t-tests, ANOVA, and multiple regression were used for statistical description and analysis.

RESULTS

Significant differences were found between cancer and chronic diseases in total scores of FACIT-Sp-12 and each domain (P < 0.05). The meaning, peace, faith, and total scores in cancer were 11.21 ± 3.38, 10.66 ± 4.46, 11.43 ± 3.54, and 33.3 ± 10.35, respectively, which were lower than chronic diseases (13.00 ± 3.21, 12.95 ± 4.76, 12.66 ± 3.64, 38.61 ± 10.88, respectively). The spiritual well-being had significant differences in gender, character, and emotional with spouse for cancer (P < 0.05). The male and extravert character were significantly associated with a greater spiritual well-being.

CONCLUSION

The study shows a medium level of spiritual well-being in cancer, which stands the population with lower economic and education in county regions. It suggests that under the current nursing mode, we should provide specifically spiritual care to the female, introvert, and those with poor relationship with spouses and create a harmonious doctor-patient environment to improve the spiritual well-being.

The Spiritual Needs Questionnaire in Research and Clinical Application: a Summary of Findings

To provide spiritual care, an assessment and documentation of patients´ spiritual struggles and/or their spiritual needs is required to initiate appropriate support planning processes. For that purpose, the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ) was developed in 2009 as an easy to apply standardized measure. The tool has so far been translated into numerous languages and is widely used as a valid and reliable instrument to assess a wide range of spiritual needs of patients with chronic diseases, elderly, adolescents, and healthy persons. Its four main factors address Religious needs, Existential needs, Inner Peace needs, and Giving/Generativity needs. Here, the main findings are summarized and discussed.

Spiritual care needs and their associated influencing factors among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure in China: A cross-sectional study

Background

The significance of spiritual care needs among chronic diseases patients has been emphasized across countries and cultures in many studies. However, there were few studies on spiritual care needs among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure (CHF) in China.

Objective

To investigate spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF, and to examine the relationships among spiritual care needs, self-perceived burden, symptom management self-efficacy, and perceived social support.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to report the study. A convenience sample of 474 elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were selected from seven hospitals in Tianjin, China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire Scale, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Self-efficacy for Symptom Management Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, univariate, multiple linear regression, and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to analyze data.

Results

The total score of spiritual care needs among 474 elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF was 37.95 ± 14.71, which was moderate. Religious belief, educational background, self-perceived burden, symptom management self-efficacy, and perceived social support were the main factors affecting spiritual care needs, and spiritual care needs were negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = −0.637, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with symptom management self-efficacy (r = 0.802, p < 0.01) and social support (r = 0.717, p < 0.01).

Significance of results

The spiritual care needs of elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were moderate, which were influenced by five factors. It is suggested that clinical nurses, families, and society should take targeted spiritual care measures to improve patients’ symptom management self-efficacy and perceived social support from many aspects, and reduce self-perceived burden to meet their spiritual care needs and improve the quality and satisfaction of spiritual care in nursing practice.