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Effects of meaning in life and individual characteristics on dignity in patients with advanced cancer in China: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Purpose

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of meaning in life and individual characteristics on dignity in patients with advanced cancer.

Methods

One hundred sixty-seven patients with advanced cancer participated in this study. Dignity was assessed with the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI), meaning in life was assessed with the Meaning in Life Scale (MiLS), and performance status was defined as the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were also measured. Independent T tests and one-way ANOVA were performed for the PDI scores and sociodemographic and clinical variables. Relationships among the PDI, MiLS, and KPS scores were evaluated with bivariate analyses (Spearman rank correlation). A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors the of PDI score.

Results

Patients reported a mean of 4.2 (SD 4.9) problems affecting their sense of dignity; 21.6% reported moderate to severe loss of their sense of dignity. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that a lower MiLS score, younger age, inpatient status, and a lower KPS score predicted the loss of dignity. Stepwise regression showed that 49.8% of dignity-related distress could be explained by the MiLS score, age, inpatient status, and the KPS score.

Conclusion

Self-perceived dignity is significantly negatively associated with meaning in life, age, inpatient status, and performance status. The early recognition of risk factors for the loss of dignity and interventions to enhance meaning in life may prevent the loss of dignity in patients with advanced cancer.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Shantou University Medical College in Shantou, China (Grant number: NU201902) and the Chinese Nursing Association of 2019 research project (Grant number: ZHKY201927).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaocheng Liu, Nuo Xu & Hui Liu

  2. Nursing Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515000, People’s Republic of China

    Zhili Liu & Wenjuan Ying

  3. Pain Management Department, Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Qinqin Cheng

Authors
  1. Xiaocheng Liu
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  2. Zhili Liu
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  3. Qinqin Cheng
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  4. Nuo Xu
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  5. Hui Liu
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  6. Wenjuan Ying
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenjuan Ying.

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All procedures implemented in the study involving human participants complied with the institutional and/or national research committees on ethics standards and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its subsequent amendments or similar ethics standards. Written informed consent was acquired from all participants.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Liu, X., Liu, Z., Cheng, Q. et al. Effects of meaning in life and individual characteristics on dignity in patients with advanced cancer in China: a cross-sectional study. Support Care Cancer 29, 2319–2326 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05732-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05732-2

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