Abstract
Patients who have previously undergone coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) were prone to death anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that spiritual well-being and appropriate coping strategies may mitigate the harmful effects of death anxiety. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the level of death anxiety in patients with CABG during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being, coping strategies and death anxiety.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients with CABG history in Tehran from June 2021 to February 2022. The face-to-face questionnaire, containing questions on demographics, Templer’s death anxiety scale, the spiritual well-being questionnaire, and the ways of coping questionnaire was administered to collect data. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive-analytical statistics, correlation tests, and logistic regression models.
Participants’ mean age was 55.59 ± 12.78 years. The mean death anxiety score was 10.00 ± 2.16, with 87% of participants reporting high levels and 13% reporting low levels of death anxiety. Based on the results, there was a significant negative correlation between death anxiety and coping strategies, as well as subscales of distancing, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, and planful problem-solving. Logistic regression showed that with the increase in the score of spiritual well-being, the odds of having high levels of death anxiety decreased (p < 0.05). Furthermore, increasing the total score of coping strategies, and the score of self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, and planful problem-solving, significantly reduced the odds of high levels of death anxiety (p < 0.05).
The study showed that patients with a CABG history experienced high death anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the findings, spiritual well-being and coping strategies, especially self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, and planful problem-solving, may reduce the odds of severe death anxiety. These should be considered as effective targets for psychological intervention in these patients.
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Abbreviations
- CVD:
-
Cardiovascular Disease
- CAD:
-
Coronary Artery Disease
- CABG:
-
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery
- COVID-19:
-
Coronavirus Disease 2019
- DA:
-
Death Anxiety
- WOC:
-
Ways of Coping
- SWB:
-
Spiritual Well-being
- RWB:
-
Religious Well-being
- EWB:
-
Existential Well-being
- DAS:
-
Death Anxiety Scale
- SWBQ:
-
Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire
- WOCQ:
-
Ways of Coping Questionnaire
- SD:
-
Standard Deviation
- OR:
-
Odds Ratio
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Acknowledgements
This research project was conducted to obtain an AK (TUMS) research diploma of the Exceptional Talents Development Center (ETDC) no. 50526-125-3-99. The Research Deputy of ETDC, as well as the Student’s Scientific Research Center (SSRC) of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at TUMS are appreciated. Also, the researchers express their appreciation and respect for the participants in this study.
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The study conception and design were contributed by all authors. Data collection was carried out by Ali Khanipour-Kencha and Fatemeh Bahramnezhad, and data analysis was performed by Farshad Sharifi. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ali Khanipour-Kencha and all authors revised it critically. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.
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Khanipour-Kencha, A., Jackson, A.C., Sharifi, F. et al. Death Anxiety in Patients with a History of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Spiritual Well-Being and Coping Strategies. J Relig Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02003-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02003-w