The Interrelationship of the Five Domains of Wellbeing (Spiritual, Physical, Function, Social and Emotional) and Site of Cancer in a Predominantly Muslim Cancer Patient Population

• Published in: Psycho-oncology (Chichester, England) Vol. 21; p. 98
• Main Authors: Lazenby, M, Khatib, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Cancer; Emotions; Intervention; Muslims; Quality of life
• ISSN: 1057-9249; 1099-1611

To describe the associations among spiritual, physical, social, emotional, and functional wellbeing as measured by the Arabic version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality (FACIT-Sp) by site of cancer. In this prospective, cross-sectional study, patients > 18 years in age, who were aware of their illness and were without mental disorder or dementia, for whom Arabic was their native and primary language, and were in treatment for cancer at the King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan, completed the FACITSp in 2009 and 2010, self-reporting their sex, age, marital status, site of cancer, and religion. One-hundred fifty-nine patients completed the FACIT-Sp: 106 (66.7%) were female; 128 (81%) married; 146 (92%) Muslim; 13 (8%) Christian; the mean age was 46.22 (13.8) years. All were diagnosed with > Stage 2 cancer: breast (n = 59), gastrointestinal (GI) (n = 24), lung (n = 11), sarcomas (n = 11), gynecologic (n = 9), other (n = 21). On multivariate analysis, the spiritual wellbeing of breast cancer patients was associated with functional wellbeing (between group sum of the squares 916.8, df 21, Mean Square 43.7, F 2.2, p = 0.02); and the spiritual wellbeing of GI cancer patients was associated with emotional wellbeing (between group sum of the squares 449.4, df 16, Mean Square 28.1, F 2.6, p = 0.03). In this predominantly Muslim cancer-patient population, the functional wellbeing of breast cancer patients and the emotional wellbeing of GI cancer patients were associated with spiritual wellbeing. Future study is needed on whether interventions to improve functional well-being of breast cancer patients and emotional wellbeing of GI cancer patients improve spiritual wellbeing. Muslim patients with breast and GI cancers with poor functional and emotional status are at risk for poor spiritual wellbeing and may benefit from clinical interventions that address all five dimensions of their wellbeing. Lazenby was supported by a Traditional Fulbright Research Scholarship.