Kanser Hastalarında Umutsuzluk ve Manevi Bakım Algısının Değerlendirilmesi

Evaluation of the Spiritual Care Needs of Patients with Cancer in a Chemotherapy Unit in Turkey

This study was conducted to determine the spiritual care needs of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to analyze a total of 104 patients at a university hospital in Turkey. The data were collected using the Spiritual Care Needs Scale. The mean age of the patients participating in the study was 61.0 (10.2). It was determined that 31.7% of the patients stated that the concepts of spirituality and spiritual care are related to religion and worship. As a result, it was found that the patients receiving chemotherapy had high-spiritual care needs. The dimensions in which the spiritual needs of the patients were remarkably high were belief and spiritual practices, being in peace and security, the love and support of their relatives and being informed about health. The spiritual care need score of the patients increased significantly with marital status (p = 0.001), having children (p = 0.002), having a chronic disease (p = 0.04) and having an undergraduate/graduate level education (p = 0.01). Nurses should be aware of patient's spiritual needs, plan patient-specific spiritual care practices, conduct more studies on the effects of spiritual care on the patient and family and create guidelines for spiritual care practices in patients receiving chemotherapy in Turkey.

A Descriptive Study of Spiritual Well-Being and Foot Care Practices Administered to Turkish Patients Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

The aim of the study is the determination of factors affecting the moral well-being of individuals with type 2 diabetes, their foot care behaviors, and the relationship between their spiritual well-being and foot care behaviors. This is a descriptive and relationship-seeking study. The population of the study was comprised of patients with type 2 diabetes who continued their treatment in the same hospital. The sample group consisted of 157 people determined by power analysis (0.05 margin of error, 0.85 power, and 0.447 effect size). For data collection, the Participant Information Form, Spiritual Well-being Scale, and the Foot Care Behavior Scale were used. The mean age of the participants was 59.50 ± 4.858, the body cure index was 29.97 ± 4.233, the foot care awareness score was 51.04 ± 9.884, and the spiritual well-being score was 19.44 ± 7.423. The spiritual well-being subdimension scores were as follows: meaning: 5.17 ± 3.226, belief: 9.79 ± 4.277, and peace and tranquility: 4.48 ± 2.608. Foot care awareness and spiritual well-being scores of the patients were moderate. Individuals' awareness of foot care is affected by their willingness to use medication and to receive education about diabetes; while the income level affects their moral well-being. There is a weak and positive relationship between the two scale scores. It would be appropriate to address the patients spiritually and to provide care with an integrated understanding of care. The adoption of foot care by nurses will make nursing more visible and will be effective for the protection of public health.