Search for Meaningful Support and the Meaning of Illness in German Cancer Patients

Background: Spiritual needs are an essential component of holistic health care. Several studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcome, coping skills and health-related quality of life. Patients and Methods: Using the newly developed SpREUK i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anticancer research 2005-03, Vol.25 (2B), p.1449-1455
Main Authors: BÜSSING, Arndt, OSTERMANN, Thomas, MATTHIESSEN, Peter F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aged
Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
European Continental Ancestry Group
Female
Germany
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Needs Assessment
Neoplasms - psychology
Quality of Life
Religion and Medicine
Spirituality
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tumors
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Summary:Background: Spiritual needs are an essential component of holistic health care. Several studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcome, coping skills and health-related quality of life. Patients and Methods: Using the newly developed SpREUK inventory, we examined how German cancer patients (n=115) by themselves view the impact of spirituality and religiosity (SpR) on their health and how they cope with illness. Results: Cancer patients with both a religious and spiritual attitude had significantly higher values in the search for meaningful support and in addressing the stabilizing effects of SpR than patients without such attitudes. Patients with non-spiritual religious attitudes had a lower perception of the beneficial effects of their SpR and significantly lower needs for meaningful support. Female cancer patients were convinced that finding access to a spiritual source has a positive influence on their illness, that illness has meaning, regard illness as a chance for their own development and as a hint to change life. Conclusion: Knowledge of a patient's spirituality can help service providers predict aspects of psychosocial needs and to respond sensitively and appropriately. The SpREUK questionnaire is a useful tool to define patients who are more in need of spiritual support than others.
ISSN:0250-7005
1791-7530