Psychological resilience and spiritual well-being may be associated with supportive care needs in breast cancer patients

1. In this cross-sectional study, there was a significant negative relationship between supportive care needs and spiritual well-being and between supportive care needs and psychological resilience in breast cancer patients.

2. Furthermore, psychological resilience was shown to have a mediating effect on the relationship between spiritual well-being and supportive care needs.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Breast cancer places a significant burden on affected individuals and can result in symptoms of distress in patients. Spiritual well-being is recognized as an important dimension in the management and support of breast cancer patients. Psychological resilience is a response to stressful situations that enables adaptation. Spiritual well-being and psychological resilience may play a role in reducing supportive care needs in breast cancer patients, but the interaction between these factors remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between spiritual well-being and psychological resilience and determine their impact on supportive care needs in women with breast cancer.

This study included 126 breast cancer patients being treated at an adult oncology outpatient clinic who received care between July 27 and September 29, 2022. Participants were included if they were 18 years or older, were diagnosed with breast cancer at least one month prior, and had no psychiatric diagnoses. Psychological resilience was evaluated using the Connor-Davidson Psychological Resilience Short Form, spiritual well-being was assessed via The Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and The Supportive Needs Scale Short Form was used to assess supportive care needs. Information on these scales was collected via face-to-face interviews with patients. The primary outcome was the influence of resilience and spiritual well-being on supportive care needs.

The results demonstrated a significant negative correlation between supportive care needs and spiritual well-being. Spiritual well-being was significantly affected by age, marital status, medical diagnoses, duration of diagnosis, and stage of diagnosis, but not the number of children, education, or employment status. There was also a significant negative correlation between supportive care needs and resilience, and psychological resilience was found to have a mediating effect on the relationship between spiritual well-being and supportive care needs. However, the study was limited by the small sample size, which may have impacted the results and generalizability. Nonetheless, the present study suggested that both spiritual well-being and psychological resilience may influence the supportive care needs of women with breast cancer.

Click to read the study in European Journal of Breast Health

Image: PD

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