Youngmin Park1, Sang-Yeon Suh2, Sun-Hyun Kim3, Jeanno Park4, Seok Joon Yoon5, Yu Jung Kim6, Beodeul Kang7, Jung Hye Kwon8, Kwonoh Park9, David Hui10, Hyeon Jeong Kim11, Sanghee Lee12, Hong-Yup Ahn11. 1. Department of Family Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, South Korea. 2. Hospice & Palliative Care Center, Department of Family Medicine, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, South Korea; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: lisasuhmd@hotmail.com. 3. Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University International St. Mary's Hospital, Incheon, South Korea. 4. Hospice & Palliative Care Center, Bobath Memorial Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea. 5. Department of Family Medicine, Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea. 6. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea. 7. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, South Korea. 8. Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea. 9. Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan, South Korea. 10. Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA. 11. Department of Statistics, Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea. 12. Department of Cancer Control and Population Health, National Cancer Center, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, Goyang, South Korea.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Spiritual well-being (SWB) is significant for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Thus, shortened versions of questions would be helpful in approaching SWB. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to develop a one-item screening question to assess the SWB of advanced cancer inpatients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study involving adult advanced cancer inpatients from seven palliative care units in South Korea. The candidate one-item questions were three questions scored using numeric rating scales from 0 to 10: feeling at peace (Are you at peace?), self-rated spirituality (Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person?), and self-rated religiosity (Do you think of yourself as a religious person?). The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality 12 (FACIT-Sp-12) comprised of two subscales Meaning/Peace and Faith was used to assess SWB. Pearson's correlation test was conducted to determine the relationship between the three questions, the total FACIT-Sp-12 score, and its subscales. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients were enrolled. A strong correlation was observed between self-rated spirituality (r = 0.732 and 0.790; P < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively) and religiosity (r = 0.708 and 0.758; P < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively) with the total FACIT-Sp-12 scores and faith subscale scores. Feeling at peace showed a moderate correlation with the total of FACIT-Sp-12 scores (r = 0.505, P < 0.01). All three questions had a moderate correlation with the meaning/peace subscale. CONCLUSION: Self-rated spirituality and religiosity showed better convergence validity than feeling at peace. Therefore, we recommend self-rated spirituality or religiosity as a one-item question for screening SWB in inpatients with advanced cancer.
CONTEXT: Spiritual well-being (SWB) is significant for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Thus, shortened versions of questions would be helpful in approaching SWB. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to develop a one-item screening question to assess the SWB of advanced cancer inpatients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study involving adult advanced cancer inpatients from seven palliative care units in South Korea. The candidate one-item questions were three questions scored using numeric rating scales from 0 to 10: feeling at peace (Are you at peace?), self-rated spirituality (Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person?), and self-rated religiosity (Do you think of yourself as a religious person?). The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality 12 (FACIT-Sp-12) comprised of two subscales Meaning/Peace and Faith was used to assess SWB. Pearson's correlation test was conducted to determine the relationship between the three questions, the total FACIT-Sp-12 score, and its subscales. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients were enrolled. A strong correlation was observed between self-rated spirituality (r = 0.732 and 0.790; P < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively) and religiosity (r = 0.708 and 0.758; P < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively) with the total FACIT-Sp-12 scores and faith subscale scores. Feeling at peace showed a moderate correlation with the total of FACIT-Sp-12 scores (r = 0.505, P < 0.01). All three questions had a moderate correlation with the meaning/peace subscale. CONCLUSION: Self-rated spirituality and religiosity showed better convergence validity than feeling at peace. Therefore, we recommend self-rated spirituality or religiosity as a one-item question for screening SWB in inpatients with advanced cancer.