Spirituality and religion in terminally ill patients with cancer

Abstract

19587 Background: The importance of spirituality and religion in coping with a terminal illness is becoming increasingly recognised. We aimed to assess the relation between spiritual well-being, religiosity, depression, and end-of-life despair in terminally-ill cancer patients. Methods: One hundred forty three terminally ill cancer patients with a life expectancy of less than 6 months were interviewed with a series of standardised instruments, including the FACIT Spiritual Well-Being Scale, a religiosity index similar to those used in previous research, the Hamilton depression rating scale, the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale and the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire. Results: A strong negative association was observed between the FACIT Spiritual Well-Being scale and the HDRS, but no such relationship was found for religiosity. Similar patterns were observed for the FACIT subscales, finding a strong negative association between the meaning and peace subscale (which corresponds to the more existential aspects of spirituality) and HDRS scores, whereas a positive, albeit nonsignificant, association was observed for the faith subscale (which corresponds more closely to religiosity). Conclusions: These results suggest that the beneficial aspects of religion may be primarily those that relate to spiritual well-being rather than to religious practices per se. Spiritual well-being offers some protection against end-of-life despair in those for whom death is imminent. The area of spiritual work is fertile ground for further investigation, especially interventions aimed at improving spiritual health and general quality of life among terminally ill patients with cancer. No significant financial relationships to disclose.