Abstract
In a cross-sectional survey using standardized questionnaires such as the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ), we analyze unmet spiritual needs of 275 patients with chronic diseases from Catholic Poland. The factorial structure of SpNQ’s Polish version is similar to the primary version and has good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.89). Here, not only Inner Peace needs and Giving/Generativity needs were of relevance, but also Religious Needs and Existential Needs. These needs were not significantly associated with life satisfaction, but with interpretations of illness. To address such unmet needs, multi-professional teams should care for patients’ multifaceted needs.
Highlights
Patients suffering from chronic illness or life-threatening diseases often report unmet needs which are in most cases neither addressed nor even recognized by health care professionals (Bussing and Koenig 2010)
In a cross-sectional survey using standardized questionnaires such as the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ), we analyze unmet spiritual needs of 275 patients with chronic diseases from Catholic Poland
Our main interest was to analyze which variables were associated with Religious Needs, because in a previous study, we found that in German patients with chronic diseases Religious Needs were positively associated with spiritual well-being and life satisfaction, while Existential Needs and Inner Peace needs were correlated with a lack of spiritual well-being and life satisfaction (Bussing et al 2013a, b)
Summary
Patients suffering from chronic illness or life-threatening diseases often report unmet needs which are in most cases neither addressed nor even recognized by health care professionals (Bussing and Koenig 2010). In a recent study among US patients with advanced cancer, a majority (72 %) reported that their spiritual needs were supported minimally or not at all by the medical system, and 47 % felt supported minimally or not at all by a religious community (Balboni et al 2007)—which could be regarded to be in charge for this topic. This is of particular importance, because support by the medical team and pastoral care visits was significantly associated with cancer patients’ quality of life (Balboni et al 2007, 2010). Health care professionals might be faced with situations they are not trained for
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