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A path analysis model of spiritual well-being and quality of life in Iranian cancer patients: a mediating role of hope

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Abstract

Purpose

Maintenance of quality of life (QOL) is vital for adaptation to life-threatening and chronic illnesses such as cancer. Therefore, the evaluation and strengthening of personal psychological resources that support QOL for patients with cancer is paramount. This study investigated the potential mediating role of hope in the relationship between spiritual well-being and QOL in Iranian cancer patients.

Methods

A correlational predictive design was used with 200 patients with varying types and stage of cancer. Demographic and health characteristic surveys, spiritual well-being (SWB), adult hope, and EORTC QLQ-c30 scales were used for measuring the study constructs. Path analysis modeling was used to determine mediation relationships.

Results

Patients’ QOL was affected by SWB and hope. Religious (β = 0.205, p = 0.002) and existential (β = 0.286, p < 0.001) SWB dimensions and hope (β = 0.263, p < 0.001) improved QOL scores. The presence of hope partially mediated the relationship between SWB and QOL.

Conclusion

Quality of life was directly affected by SWB and was further improved by the presence of hope. The study suggests that maintenance of hope is essential to QOL in Iranian patients with cancer.

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Availability of data and materials

The current study datasets and analysis sheets are available and will be provided due to reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Midwifery Amol, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Hamid Sharif Nia

  2. College of Nursing, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Rebecca H. Lehto

  3. Nursing Care Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Naiemeh Seyedfatemi

  4. Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mobin Mohammadinezhad

Authors
  1. Hamid Sharif Nia
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  2. Rebecca H. Lehto
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  3. Naiemeh Seyedfatemi
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  4. Mobin Mohammadinezhad
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Contributions

Mobin Mohammadinezhad: data collection, manuscript writing.

Naiemeh Seyedfatemi: study supervision, study design contributions, data analysis, and manuscript writing.

Hamid Sharif Nia: statistical analysis and interpretation, manuscript writing.

Rebecca H. Lehto: manuscript writing including revisions.

The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mobin Mohammadinezhad.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Ethical Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences approved the study (approval number: IR.IUMS.REC.1398.140).

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All the participants signed the written consent forms. All the participations were assured regarding their privacy in this study and informed about volunteer entering in the study and willingness to exclude from the study at any time.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Sharif Nia, H., Lehto, R.H., Seyedfatemi, N. et al. A path analysis model of spiritual well-being and quality of life in Iranian cancer patients: a mediating role of hope. Support Care Cancer 29, 6013–6019 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06172-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06172-2

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