Buse Güler, Cahide Ayik, Selin Özgen
Patients with gynecologic cancer experience substantial unmet spiritual needs, and their spiritual well-being is influenced by both sociodemographic and clinical factors, notably, being unemployed and not receiving chemotherapy are associated with higher spiritual well-being. Addressing spiritual needs should be an integral component of holistic cancer care to enhance overall well-being.
PURPOSE: Gynecologic cancers significantly affect patient's psychosocial and spiritual well-being, highlighting the importance of addressing spiritual needs in this population. This study aimed to explore spiritual needs and assess spiritual well-being and the factors influencing it among patients with gynecologic cancer.
METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional study included 213 patients with gynecologic cancer. Spiritual needs were assessed using the Spiritual Needs Scale (SNS), with item responses ranging from "never" to "very often" to determine the frequency of needs across six dimensions. Spiritual well-being was evaluated using the 12-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp). Total FACIT-Sp scores range from 0 to 48, with higher scores indicating greater spiritual well-being. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses.
RESULTS: Patients frequently reported salient needs related to their spiritual and existential well-being. These needs included engaging in religious or spiritual practices, having someone pray with or for them, giving and receiving love, addressing end-of-life issues, reviewing their lives, offering or receiving forgiveness, achieving a sense of peace and contentment, and maintaining a hopeful or positive outlook. The mean FACIT-Sp total score was 36.32 ± 4.23, indicating a relatively high level of spiritual well-being among the participants. Unemployment and not receiving chemotherapy were associated with higher spiritual well-being.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with gynecologic cancer experience substantial unmet spiritual needs, and their spiritual well-being is influenced by both sociodemographic and clinical factors, notably, being unemployed and not receiving chemotherapy are associated with higher spiritual well-being. Addressing spiritual needs should be an integral component of holistic cancer care to enhance overall well-being.