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Exploring the relationship between spiritual well-being and quality of life among patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2014

Mei Bai ,
Mark Lazenby ,
Sangchoon Jeon ,
Jane Dixon  and
Ruth McCorkle
Mei Bai*
Affiliation:
Yale University, School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut
Mark Lazenby
Affiliation:
Yale University, School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut
Sangchoon Jeon
Affiliation:
Yale University, School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut
Jane Dixon
Affiliation:
Yale University, School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut
Ruth McCorkle
Affiliation:
Yale University, School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Ruth McCorkle, Yale School of Nursing, Yale University, West Campus, P.O. Box 27399, West Haven, Connecticut 06516-7399. E-mail: ruth.mccorkle@yale.edu
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Abstract

Objective:

In our context, existential plight refers to heightened concerns about life and death when people are diagnosed with cancer. Although the duration of existential plight has been proposed to be approximately 100 days, evidence from longitudinal studies raises questions about whether the impact of a diagnosis of advanced cancer may require a longer period of adjustment. The purpose of our study was to examine spiritual well-being (SpWB) and quality of life (QoL) as well as their interrelationship in 52 patients with advanced cancer after 100 days since the diagnosis at one and three months post-baseline.

Method:

The study was designed as a secondary data analysis of a cluster randomized clinical trial involving patients with stage 3 or 4 cancer undergoing treatment. SpWB was measured using the 12-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT–Sp–12); common factor analyses revealed a three-factor pattern on the FACIT–Sp–12. Quality of life was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General (FACT–G). We limited our sample to participants assigned to the control condition (n = 52).

Results:

SpWB and QoL remained stable between one and three months post-baseline, which were a median of 112 and 183 days after diagnosis, respectively. SpWB was found to be associated with QoL more strongly than physical and emotional well-being. Peace and Meaning each contributed unique variance to QoL, and their relative importance shifted over time. Faith was positively related to QoL initially. This association became insignificant at three months post-baseline.

Significance of results:

This study underscores the significance of SpWB for people newly diagnosed with advanced cancer, and it highlights the dynamic pattern of Peace, Meaning, and Faith in association with QoL. Our results confirm that patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer experience an existential crisis, improve and stabilize over time. Future studies with larger samples over a longer period of time are needed to verify these results.

Keywords

Spiritual well-beingQuality of lifeAdvanced cancerNewly diagnosedExistential plight
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 927 - 935
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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