Dignity Therapy Improves Hope and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Cancer is one of the most prominent public health issues. It can put the patient’s hope and quality of life (QOL) at risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dignity therapy on the hope and quality of life of cancer patients.

This trial was conducted in 2019. The sample included 76 cancer patients who were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=38) and a control group (n=38). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Herth-Hope questionnaire (1991), and the EORTC QLQ-C30 scoring (1988). The intervention group received a dignity therapy protocol. The control group received no intervention. The questionnaires were completed again four weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 and several tests (Chi-square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, independent t-test, paired t-test, Wilcoxon, and Mann-Whitney). The significance level was set at P-value<0.05.

Mean scores for hope and quality of life before the intervention were not significantly different between the experimental and control groups (P=0.11). Four weeks after the end of the intervention, the mean scores of hope in the intervention group (26.88±2.90) were significantly higher than those of the control group (24.60 ± 4.26) (P=0.03). Also, after the intervention, the mean scores of quality of life in the intervention group (69.61±12.71) were significantly higher than those of the control group (50.64 ±12.15) (P<0.001).

Dignity therapy can be an effective intervention method for increasing hope and improving the quality of life among cancer patients.