Loneliness, Death Perception, and Spiritual Well-Being in Adult Oncology Patients

Abstract

Background Holistic nursing care requires taking into consideration the spiritual and emotional dimensions of the patient. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the relationships among loneliness, death perception, and spiritual well-being in adult oncology patients. Methods This cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study was conducted between March 20, 2018, and September 20, 2018. A total of 347 oncology inpatients participated in this study. Data were collected using the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), the Personal Meanings of Death Scale, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being Scale (FACIT-Sp). Results A significant negative relationship was found between UCLA-LS total scores and FACIT-Sp total scores (r = -0.217, P < .01). Positive significant relationships between FACIT-Sp total scores and the Afterlife (r = 0.425, P < .01), Motivation/Legacy (r = 0.468, P < .01), and Extinction (r = 0.337, P < .01) subdimension scores of the Personal Meanings of Death Scale were also found. Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being Scale total scores were affected by age (B = -0.158), having graduated from a university (B = -7.859), living in the city center (B = -5.607), current diagnosis (B = -0.416), surgical treatment (B = -5.291), and receiving chemotherapy (B = 5.304). The UCLA-LS scores were unrelated to the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients (P > .05). Conclusion Oncology patients experience moderate levels of loneliness, which decrease as their spiritual well-being levels increase. Patients with higher levels of spiritual well-being were found to attribute more positive meanings to death. Implications for Practice Spiritual well-being, loneliness, and death perception should be periodically evaluated in oncology patients, and appropriate nursing interventions should be planned.