Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigation of the Spiritual Care Effects on Anxiety, Depression, Psychological Distress and Spiritual Levels of Turkish Muslim Radiotherapy Patients

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the spiritual care support given to Muslim cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy with an experimental study on the spirituality, anxiety, depression and distress levels of these patients. In this study, experimental research design with experimental control group was used. Personal information form designed by researchers, HAD scale, DT scale and Spirituality Scale was used for personal information. In conclusion, it was determined that the support for Islamic spiritual care had positive effects on hospitalized radiotherapy patients. According to the results obtained, it is recommended to examine in larger sample groups in different treatment programs in order to reveal the effect of spiritual care support.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmad, F. M., & Abdullah, A. A. (2011). Religion and spirituality in coping with advanced breast cancer: perspectives from Malaysian Muslim women. Journal of Religion and Health, 50(1), 36–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Astrow, A., Wexler, A., Texeira, K., He, M., & Sulmasy, D. (2007). Is failure to meet spiritual needs associated with cancer patients’ perceptions of quality of care and their satisfaction with care? Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25(36), 5753–5757.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aydemir, Ö., Güvenir, T., Kuey, L., & Kültür, S. (1997). Validity and reliability of Turkish version of hospital anxiety and depression scale. Turkish Psychiatry Journal, 8(4), 280–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aydemir, Ö., & Köroğlu, E. (2000). Psikiyatride kullanılan klinik ölçekler. Ankara: Hekimler Birliği.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azhar, M. Z., & Varma, S. L. (1995a). Religious psychotherapy in depressive patients. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 63(3–4), 165–168.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Azhar, M. Z., & Varma, S. L. (1995b). Religious psychotherapy as management of bereavement. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 91(4), 233–235.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Azhar, M., Varma, S. L., & Dharap, A. S. (1994). Religious psychotherapy in anxiety disorder patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 90(1), 1–3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buhârî, E.-C. (1990). Sahîhu’l-buhârî. Beyrut.

  • Bultz, B., & Carlson, L. (2006). Emotional distress: the sixth vital sign—future directions in cancer care. Psycho-Oncology: Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer, 15(2), 93–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, D., & Rashidi, A. (2004). East meets west: Integrating psychotherapy approaches for Muslim women. Holistic Nursing Practice, 18(13), 152–159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clover, K., Oultram, S., Adams, C., Cross, L., Findlay, N., & Ponman, L. (2011). Disruption to radiation therapy sessions due to anxiety among patients receiving radiation therapy to the head and neck area can be predicted using patient self-report measures. Psycho-Oncology, 20(12), 1334–1341.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Çalışkan, E., Gürhan, N., & Tekgündüz, A. (2017). Distress, anxiety and depression in patients who have received hematologic cancer diagnosis. Acta Oncologica Turcica, 50(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.5505/aot.2017.70298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Çınar, F., & Şirin, T. (2019). Investigatıon of spiritual well-being palliative care of patients. Innovative Journal of Medical Health Science, 9(7), 496–513. https://doi.org/10.15520/ijmhs.v9i7.2643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dedeli, Ö., Yildiz, E., & Yuksel, S. (2015). Assessing the spiritual needs and practices of oncology patients in Turkey. Holistic Nursing Practice, 29(2), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000070

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dinkel, A., Berg, P., Pirker, C., Geinitz, H., Sehlen, S., Emrich, M., et al. (2010). Routine psychosocial distress screening in radiotherapy: implementation and evaluation of a computerised procedure. British Journal of Cancer, 103(10), 1489–1495.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Eilami, O., Moslemirad, M., Naimi, E., Amin, B., & Rezaei, K. (2019). The effect of religious psychotherapy emphasizing the importance of prayers on mental health and pain in cancer patients. Journal of Religion and Health, 58, 444–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0696-x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferlay, J., Soerjomataram, I., Dikshit, R., Eser, S., Mathers, C., Rebelo, M., et al. (2015). Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: sources, methods and major patterns in GLOBOCAN 2012. International Journal of Cancer, 136(5), E359–E386. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.29210

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzmaurice, C., Allen, C., Barber, R. M., Barregard, L., Bhutta, Z. A., Brenner, H., & Fleming, T. (2017). Global, regional and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years for 32 cancer groups, 1990 to 2015: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study. JAMA Oncology, 3(4), 524–548. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.5688

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston-Johansson, F., Haisfield-Wolfe, M., Reddick, B., Goldstein, N., & Lawal, T. (2013). The relationships among coping strategies, religious coping, and spirituality in African American women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. Oncology Nursing Forum, 40(2), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1188/13.ONF.120-131

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Giraldi, T., De Vanna, M., Malagoli, M., Tuveri, G., Sutto, K., Schillani, G., & Grassi, L. (2007). Mental adaptation to cancer: Depression and blood platelet monoamine oxidase activity in breast cancer patients. Anticancer research, 27(38), 1715–1719.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Göksel, F. (2019). Türkiye’de Onkoloji Hizmetleri. In O. Koç, H. Güler, & M. Eğin (Eds.), Özellikli sağlık hizmetleri ve planlama (pp. 85–125). Ankara: Akademisyen Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halkett, G., Kristjanson, L., Lobb, E., Little, J., Shaw, T., Taylor, M., & Spry, N. (2012). Information needs and preferences of women as they proceed through radiotherapy for breast cancer. Patient Education and Counseling, 86(3), 396–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, N., & Williamson, K. (2008). A survey of cancer patients undergoing a radical course of radiotherapy, to establish levels of anxiety and depression. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 7(2), 89–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khaki, A., & Habibabad, A. S. (2020). Effect of religious and Islamic teachings on the calmness and mental health in educational spaces. Journal of Religion and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01022-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchheiner, K., Czajka, A., Ponocny-Seliger, E., Pötter, E., & Dörr, W. (2013). Physical and psychosocial support requirements of 1,500 patients starting radiotherapy. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie, 189(5), 424–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-013-0329-y

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kurt, Z. Y., & Özdoğan, Ö. T. (2005). Kanserli hastaların iyileşmesinde manevi değerlerin rolü. Ankara: (Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi), Ankara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Felsefe Ve Din Bilimleri (Din Psikolojisi) Ana Bilim Dalı.).

  • Lazenby, M., & Khatib, J. (2012). Associations among patient characteristics, health-related quality of life, and spiritual well-being among Arab Muslim cancer patients. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 15(12), 1321–1324. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2012.0208

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, H. R., & Bauer-Wu, S. M. (2003). Psycho-spiritual well-being in patients with advanced cancer: An integrative review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44(1), 69–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mackenzie, L. J., Carey, M., & Sanson-Fisher, R. (2013). Psychological distress in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy treatment. Supportive Care in Cancer, 21(4), 1043–1051.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marrs, J. (2006). Stress, fears, and phobias: The impact of anxiety. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 10(3), 319–322. https://doi.org/10.1188/06.CJON.319-322

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, D., & Lozano, R. (2012). Understanding patient psychosocial issues. Radiat Ther, 21, 96–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musiello, T., Dixon, G., O’Connor, M., Cook, D., Miller, L., Patterson, A., et al. (2017). A pilot study of routine screening for distress by a nurse and psychologist in an outpatient haematological oncology clinic. Applied Nursing Research, 33, 15–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2016.09.005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newell, S., Sanson-Fisher, R., & Savolainen, N. (2002). Systematic review of psychological therapies for cancer patients: Overview and recommendations for future research. Journal of the National Cancer Institute., 94(8), 558–584.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Özalp, E., Cankurtaran, E., Soygür, H., Geyik, P., & Jacobsen, P. (2006). Screening for psychological distress in Turkish cancer patients. Psycho-Oncology: Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer, 16(4), 304–311. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.1059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özdoğan, Ö. (2020). Kanser Hastası ve Ailesine Manevi Bakım. Turkiye Klinikleri Medical Oncology-Special Topics, 13(1), 52–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puchalski, C., Sbrana, A., Ferrell, B., Jafari, N., King, S., Balboni, T., et al. (2019). Interprofessional spiritual care in oncology: a literature review. ESMO Open, 4(e000465), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1136/esmoopen-2018-000465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rashidi, A., & Rajaram, S. (2001). Culture care conflicts among Asian-Islamic ımmigrant women in us hospitals. Holistic Nursing Practice, 16(1), 55–61.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Razali, S. M., Aminah, K., & Khan, U. A. (2002). Religious–cultural psychotherapy in the management of anxiety patients. Transcultural Psychiatry, 39(1), 130–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhazali, S. M., Hasanah, C. I., Aminah, K., & Subramaniam, M. (1998). Religioussociocultural psychotherapy in patients with anxiety and depression. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 32(6), 867–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, A. J., Kornblinth, A. B., Batel-Copel, L., & Peabody, E. (1998). Rapid screening for psychologic distress in men with prostate carcinoma: a pilot study. Cancer: Interdisciplinary International Journal of the American Cancer Society, 82(10), 1904–1908.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanson-Fisher, R., Girgis, A., Boyes, A., Bonevski, B., Burton, L., Cook, P., & Gr, S. C. R. (2000). The unmet supportive care needs of patients with cancer. Cancer, 88(1), 226–237.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seven, M., Akyüz, A., Sever, N., & Dinçer, Ş. (2013). Kanser tanısı alan hastaların yaşadığı fiziksel ve psikolojik semptomların belirlenmesi. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin, 12(3), 219–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Söllner, W., DeVries, A., Steixner, E., Lukas, P., Sprinzl, G., Rumpold, G., & Maislinger, S. (2001). How successful are oncologists in identifying patient distress, perceived social support, and need for psychosocial counselling? British Journal of Cancer, 84(2), 179–185.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Şirin, T. (2013). The religious counseling model that integrated with cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis), Sakarya University Social Sciences Institute, Sakarya/Turkey.

  • Şirin, T. (2014). Dini danışma ve rehberlik, ihsan modeli, manevi danışmanlık. İstanbul: Mim Akademi Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Şirin, T. (2018a). Spirituality scale: development, validity and reliability. Turkish Studies - International Periodical for the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic, 13(18), 1283–1309. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStu-dies.13996

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Şirin, T. (2018b). Manevi danışmanlıkta ihsan modeli. İstanbul: Kaknüs Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thuné-Boyle, I. C., Stygall, J. A., Keshtgar, M. R., & Newman, S. P. (2006). Do religious/spiritual coping strategies affect illness adjustment in patients with cancer? A systematic review of the literature. Social Science & Medicine, 63(1), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.11.055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tirgari, B., Iranmanesh, S., Cheraghi, M. A., & Arefi, A. (2013). Meaning of spiritual care: Iranian nurses’ experiences. Holistic Nursing Practice, 27(4), 199–206.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Üstündağ, S., & Zencirci Demir, A. (2015). Complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer patients and determination of affecting factors. Holistic Nursing Practice, 29(6), 357–369. https://doi.org/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000113

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verdonck-de Leeuw, I., de Bree, R., Keizer, A., Houffelaar, T., Cuijpers, P., & van der Linden, M. (2009). Computerized prospective screening for high levels of emotional distress in head and neck cancer patients and referral rate to psychosocial care. Oral Oncology, 45(10), e129–e133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2020). WHO report on cancer: setting priorities, investing wisely and providing care for all. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications-detail/who-report-on-cancer-setting-priorities-investing-wisely-and-providing-care-for-all

  • Yee, M., Sereika, S., Bender, C., Brufsky, A., Connolly, M., & Rosenzweig, M. Q. (2017). Symptom incidence, distress, cancer-related distress, and adherence to chemotherapy among African American women with breast cancer. Cancer, 123(11), 2061–2069.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zabalegui, A., Sanchez, S., Sanchez, P., & Juando, C. (2005). Nursing and cancer support groups. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 51(4), 369–381.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zigmond, A. S., & Snaith, R. P. (1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67(6), 361–370.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors did not receive financial support for the research and would like to thank all patients who participated in the research. We would also like to thank Ahmet Erdoğan who assisted in spiritual care practices.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Islamic Sciences Faculty, Department of Psychology of Religion, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Halkalı Street, No: 281 Halkalı, Küçükcekmece, Istanbul, 34303, Turkey

    Turgay Şirin

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, SBÜ Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Street, Yenimahalle, 06200, Ankara, Turkey

    Fatih Göksel

Authors
  1. Turgay Şirin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fatih Göksel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

T.Ş.: Methodology, investigation, data preparation, statistics, supervision, writing and editing. F.G.: Data preparation, investigation, writing, supervision, reviewing and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Turgay Şirin.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

This experimental study was approved by the Medical Specialty Training Board of Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital (Approval ID:2019-06/333).

Informed Consent

Informed consent was taken from the participants. The patients were randomly assigned in the spiritual care group and control group. Patients received no payment and could leave the study at any time during the study period.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Şirin, T., Göksel, F. Investigation of the Spiritual Care Effects on Anxiety, Depression, Psychological Distress and Spiritual Levels of Turkish Muslim Radiotherapy Patients. J Relig Health 60, 2484–2502 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01117-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01117-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation