A survey of the role of spiritual health and its related factors in the patients with metastatic digestive cancer

Background and Spiritual health has an important role in the adaptation and relaxation of human beings, especially of those with chronic diseases. Cancer causes physical and psychological crises in people. Therefore this study was performed with the aim of investigation into the spiritual health of patients with metastatic digestive tract cancer and its related factors. The present cross-sectional study was conducted on the 250 patients with metastatic digestive tract cancer diagnosis in Imam Khomaini Educational and Treatment Centre and Tooba Clinic in Sari City, Iran in 2013. Random sampling method was used to select the patients. Demographic and Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual health questionnaires were utilized to collect data. Data analyses were done through descriptive statistics, Chi-square, t-Test and ANOVA tests and SPSS software Version 15 was used too. The total mean score and standard deviation of spiritual health for the patients was 94.47± 12.56 and the mean scores and standard deviations for religious and physical health were 46.35±6.49 and 48.10±6.96 respectively. There were not any relationship between patient's demographic variables of age, gender, marital status and their spiritual health (P>0.05), but there was a significant relationship between patient's dwelling place and their spiritual health (p<0.04). The results of the present research show that most of the metastatic digestive cancer patients have moderate spiritual health and their religious health level was slightly more than their existential health and regarding to the culture of our society, this condition seems normal.