Spiritual Health, Forgiveness and Coping Strategies for Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer

Exposure to cancer causes the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects. Spiritual health coordinates different aspects of human life and it is necessary to adapt to the disease. The present study was conducted to investigate the spiritual health, forgiveness and coping strategies in patients with gastrointestinal cancers. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. In this study, 45 patients with various types of gastrointestinal cancers referred to the Imam Reza Educational Center of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2018 were evaluated. Ellison Spiritual Wellness Questionnaire, Ray Forgive Questionnaire, and Pargament and Queen's Religious Coping Strategies Questionnaire were used. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-test and Spearman correlation coefficient were used by SPSS 19 software. The results showed significant correlation between forgiveness and spiritual health (P<0.001, rs=0.61), forgiveness with religious coping strategies (P=0.031, rs=0.73) and spiritual well-being. There was a significant positive correlation with religious coping strategies and Spiritual Health (P=0.001, rs=0.44). All subjects were informed on the content of the study and if they agreed to participate, a written informed consent was obtained. The results of study showed that most patients with cancer have a high spiritual level. Positive emotions resulted in better self-expression. Religious coping strategies lead to delightful emotional experiences and positive emotions in subjects and it will make life satisfying and thanksgiving and full of forgiveness.