Spiritual well-being levels of formal and informal cancer caregivers in Turkish society and influencing factors: A comparative study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the spiritualwell-being levels of formal and informal caregiversof cancer patients.Materials and Methods: This study using a crosssectional survey was conducted with formal (n=52)and informal caregivers (n=52), who met theinclusion criteria, were included in the sample. Thedata of the study were collected using web-based andself-reported questionnaires.Results: The scores of spiritual well-being in alldimensions of formal and informal caregivers are ata moderate level. There was a difference between informal and formal caregivers in the belief andpeace sub-dimension scores. Moreover, there was nodifference in total score averages of the spiritualwell-being scale. It was found that there was nostatistically significant difference between themaccording to age groups, gender, marital status,having a child, and income status.Conclusions: This study provides that the careprocess of cancer patients may affect the spiritualwell-being of formal and informal caregivers.Keywords: cancer, formal caregivers, informalcaregivers, spiritual well-being, oncology nursing