A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SPIRITUALITY AND SOCIAL SUPPORT WITH ITS IMPACT ON CANCER PATIENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the level of spirituality and social support along with its impact on health related quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 15th July to 31st August 2018 on 200 patients selected through purposive sampling. Pre-validated questionnaires were used to collect the data on spirituality, social support and QoL, which were analyzed using SPSS v.20.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied where needed.RESULTS: In 200 patients, 151 (75.5%) were male, majority (n=70; 35%) were from >48 to 58 years of age group, maximum (n=116; 58%) were unmarried, while majority had primary education (n=62; 31%). Laryngeal carcinoma (n=24; 12%), was the commonest clinical presentation followed by breast cancer (n=23; 11.5%). Majority (n=77; 38.5%) presented at Stage III, 140 (70%) reported it to be diagnosed at first evaluation, 161 (80.5%) had no family history, 109 (54.5%) reported to start spiritual treatment after diagnosis, and 117 (58.5%) reported family as their main support during the whole phase. In spirituality distinctiveness, 68 (34%) patients showed very high spiritual level, 72 (36%) reported to recite specific Quranic verses in religious practice, in which 112 (56%) reported to recite واذا مرضت فهو يشفين, 168 (84%) leaned towards spiritual practices after diagnosis. In correlation, spirituality (2.42±0.596) and social support (2.19±0.568), both had a significant correlation with QoL (2.37±0.494) with values of r=0.289, p=0.000 and r=0.238, p=0.001 respectively.CONCLUSION: Spirituality and social support are the key coping mechanisms that have supportive influences on the patients’ overall health-related QoL.