Spiritual needs, spiritual well-being, and Buddhist practices of patients with terminal illness, Thailand
1
Issued Date
2024-08-01
Resource Type
eISSN
14789523
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85197621163
Pubmed ID
36177659
Journal Title
Palliative & supportive care
Volume
22
Issue
4
Start Page
718
End Page
725
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Palliative & supportive care Vol.22 No.4 (2024) , 718-725
Suggested Citation
Pokpalagon P., Chaiviboontham S., Phinitkhajorndech N. Spiritual needs, spiritual well-being, and Buddhist practices of patients with terminal illness, Thailand. Palliative & supportive care Vol.22 No.4 (2024) , 718-725. 725. doi:10.1017/S1478951522001286 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/101991
Title
Spiritual needs, spiritual well-being, and Buddhist practices of patients with terminal illness, Thailand
Author's Affiliation
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to describe and compare the spiritual needs and spiritual well-being among terminally ill patients receiving care in different palliative care settings and to investigate the differences in spiritual well-being in relation to the level of Buddhist practices. METHODS: A cross-sectional multicenter study was carried out that included community/home-based care (Home), a faith-based organization for patients with AIDS (FB_AIDS), a faith-based organization for patients with cancer (FB_CA), and a hospice ward (Hospice). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the participants' demographics, Buddhist practices, spiritual needs, and spiritual well-being. The analysis was performed using analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests to compare the spiritual needs and the spiritual well-being in the different settings. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to investigate the differences in spiritual well-being in relation to the level of Buddhist practices. RESULTS: A total of 170 patients with a terminal illness (30 Home, 33 FB_AIDS, 64 FB_CA, and 43 Hospice) participated. Patients with a terminal illness receiving care at the FB_CA and Home had significantly higher mean scores for spiritual needs than those in the other settings. Patients with a terminal illness receiving care at the FB_CA had a significantly higher mean score for spiritual well-being than those receiving care in the other settings. Participants having a higher frequency of Buddhist practice had significantly higher mean scores for spiritual well-being. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Spiritual needs and spiritual well-being differed significantly among participants in different palliative care settings. The more the patients engaged in Buddhist practices, the higher their scores were for spiritual well-being. Thus, religious-based strategies should be integrated into palliative care and should be more emphasized.