Correlation between Spiritual Health and Perceived Stress in Cancer Patients undergoing Chemotherapy

Background and Aim: Stress is one of the common disorders that affects the treatment process in cancer patients. The paradoxical relationships found between spiritual health and perceived stress in cancer patients in international studies and the lack of similar studies in Iran prompted the researchers to conduct a study with the aim of investigating the correlation between spiritual health and perceived stress in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive-correlational study that was conducted on 150 patients referred to the oncology and chemotherapy departments of medical centers affiliated to Tehran Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences in 2024. Patients were selected to take part in the study based on inclusion criteria, using a purposive sampling method. A demographic information questionnaire, the Paloutzian & Ellison’s spiritual well-being scale and the perceived stress scale (PSS-14) were used to collect the data. Data was analyzed by SPSS-26 software, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The findings showed that perceived stress had a negative and significant correlation with spiritual health (r=-0.550, P<0.001). Conclusion: Spiritual health can reduce the level of stress in cancer patients and ultimately, helps them to recover quicker. Therefore, it seems necessary to pay attention to spiritual health as one of the dimensions of health, because it affects the level of perceived stress in cancer patients.

Correlation between Spiritual Health and Perceived Stress in Cancer Patients undergoing Chemotherapy Keywords:

Spiritual Health , Stress , Cancer. , سلامت معنوی , استرس , سرطان.