Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T07:03:05.879Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Meaning in life of patients with cancer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2013

Behice Erci
Behice Erci*
Affiliation:
Nursing Department, Malatya School Health, İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Behice Erci, İnönü Üniversitesi, Malatya Sağlık Yüksekokulu, 44280 Malatya, Türkiye. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to evaluate meaning in life and its predictors in Turkish patients with cancer.

Methods:

A convenience sample of 182 patients with cancer at a Turkish university hospital completed a structured questionnaire including demographic characteristics, disease/treatment characteristics, symptom level, and the meaning in life scale for patients with cancer in 2007. The researcher visited the oncology clinic five work days in every week and conducted interviews with the patients. In analysis of the data, correlation, t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis variance and regression analysis were used.

Results:

In this study, the mean score of the total meaning in life showed that the patients tended to be undecided concerning meaning in life. Education level, age, and diagnosis duration of the independent variables were effective predictors of meaning in life. Together the independent variables explained 24.3% of the variance of the purpose subscale, 26.2% of the variance of the coherence subscale, 14% of the variance of the choice/responsibleness subscale, and 44.1% of the total variance of the goal seeking subscale. Overall the independent variables explained 19.8% of the total variance of the total meaning in life.

Significance of results:

The results in this study should increase the awareness of cancer care professionals about a range of the meaning in life and may help them to target particular patient groups for detail support interventions.

Keywords

Cancer characteristicsCancer treatmentMeaning in lifeDemographic characteristicsNursing
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 3 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

ATO. (2008). ATO basın müşavirliği. http://www.capital.com.tr/haber.aspx?-HBR_KOD=1252 (Accessed on November 13, 2009).Google Scholar
Baider, L., Russak, SM., Perry, S., et al. (1999). The role of religious and spiritual beliefs in coping with malignant melanoma: An Israeli sample. Psychooncology, 8, 27–35.Google Scholar
Bauer-Wu, S. & Farran, C.J. (2005). Meaning in life and psycho-spiritual functioning. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 23, 172–190.Google Scholar
Breitbart, W. & Heller, K.S. (2003). Refraining hope: meaning-centred care for patients near the end of life. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 6, 979–988.Google Scholar
Breitbart, W., Gibson, C., Poppito, S.R., et al. (2004). Psychotherapeutic interventions at the end of life: A focus on meaning and spirituality. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49, 366–372.Google Scholar
Bower, J.E., Meyerowitz, B.E., Desmond, K.A., et al. (2005). Perceptions of positive meaning and vulnerability following breast cancer: Predictors and outcomes among long-term breast cancer survivors. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 29, 236–245.Google Scholar
Cleeland, C.S., Mendoza, T.R., Wang, X.S., et al. (2000). Assessing symptom distress in cancer patients. Cancer, 89, 1634–46.Google Scholar
Cohen, S.T. & Block, S. (2004). Issues in psychotherapy with terminally ill patients. Palliative and Supportive Care, 2, 181–189.Google Scholar
Coward, D.D. & Kahn, D.L. (2005). Transcending breast cancer: Making meaning from diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 23, 264–283.Google Scholar
Erci, B. (2008). Meaning in life scale for patients with cancer: Instrument validation. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62, 704–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folkman, S. & Moskowitz, J.T. (2000). Positive affect and the other side of coping. American Psychologist, 55, 647–654.Google Scholar
Folkman, S. (2008). The case for positive emotions in the stress process. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 21, 3–14Google Scholar
Fry, P.S. (2001). The unique contribution of key existential factors to the prediction of psychological well-being of older adults following spousal loss. The Gerontologist, 41, 69–81.Google Scholar
Holland, J.C., Passik, S., Kash, K.M., et al. (1999). The role of religious and spiritual beliefs in coping with malignant melanoma. Psychooncology, 8, 14–26.Google Scholar
Jaarsma, T.A., Pool, G., Ranchor, A.V., et al. (2007). The concept and measurement of meaning in life in Dutch cancer patients. Psycho-Oncology, 16, 241–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, V., Fallowfield, L. & Saul, J. (2001). Information needs of patients with cancer: results from a large study in UK cancer centres. British Journal of Cancer, 84, 48–51.Google Scholar
Jim, H.S., Purnell, J.Q., Richardson, S.A., et al. (2006). Measuring meaning in life following cancer. Quality of Life Research, 15, 1355–1371.Google Scholar
Habermas, T. & Bluck, S. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 748–769.Google Scholar
Kissane, D.W., Clarke, D.M. & Street, A.F. (2001). Demoralization syndrome-A relevant psychiatric diagnosis for palliative care. Journal of Palliative Care, 17, 12–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kissane, D.W. (2000). Psychospiritual and existential distress. The challenge for palliative care. Australian Family Physician, 29, 1022–1025.Google Scholar
Mendoza, T.R., Wang, X.S., Cleeland, C.S., et al. (1999). The rapid assessment of fatigue severity in cancer patients: Use of the Brief Fatigue Inventory. Cancer, 85, 1186–1196.Google Scholar
Moadel, A., Morgan, C., Fatone, A., et al. (1999). Seeking meaning and hope: Selfreported spiritual and existential needs among an ethnically diverse cancer patient population. Psycho-Oncology, 8, 378–385.Google Scholar
Moore, S.L. (1997). A phenomenological study of meaning in life in suicidal older adults. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 11, 29–36.Google Scholar
Nelson, C.J., Rosenfeld, B., Breitbart, W., et al. (2002). Spirituality, religion, and depression in the terminally ill. Psychosomatics, 43, 213–220.Google Scholar
Nicholson, T., Higgins, W., Turner, P., et al. (1994). The relation between meaning in life and the occurrence of drug abuse: a retrospective study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 8, 24–28.Google Scholar
Park, C.L., Malone, M.R., Suresh, D.P., et al. (2008). Coping, meaning in life, and quality of life in congestive heart failure patients. Quality of Life Research, 17, 21–26.Google Scholar
Reker, G.T. (1992). Meaning in life [Rev manual]. Peterborough, ON: Student Psychologists.Google Scholar
Reker, G.T. & Fry, P.S. (2003). Factor structure and invariance of personal meaning measures in cohorts of younger and older adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 977–993Google Scholar
Reker, G.T. (1994). Logotheory and logotherapy: challenges, opportunities, and some empirical findings. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 17, 47–55.Google Scholar
Reker, G.T. (1997). Personal meaning, optimism, and choice: existential predictors of depression in community and institutional elderly. The Gerontologist, 37, 709–716.Google Scholar
Reker, G.T. & Butler, B. (1990). Personal meaning, stress, and health in older adults. Paper presented at the Canadian Association on Gerontology, Victoria, BC.Google Scholar
Richer, M.C. & Ezer, H. (2002). Living in it, living with it, and moving on: dimensions of meaning during chemotherapy. Oncology Nursing Forum, 29, 113–119.Google Scholar
Saleh, U.S. & Brockopp, D.Y. (2001). Hope among patients with cancer hospitalized for bone marrow transplantation: A phenomenologic study. Cancer Nursing, 24, 308–314.Google Scholar
Schroevers, M.J., Ranchor, A.V. & Sanderman, R. (2004). The role of age at the onset of cancer in relation to survivors' long term adjustment: a controlled comparison over an eight year period. Psycho-Oncology, 13, 740–752.Google Scholar
Skrabski, Á., Kopp, M., Rózsa, S., et al. (2005). Life Meaning: An important correlate of health in the Hungarian population. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 12, 78–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steger, M.F. & Kashdan, T.B. (2007). Stability and specificity of meaning in life and life satisfaction over one year. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8,161–179.Google Scholar
Thompson, P. (2007). The relationship of fatigue and meaning in life in breast cancer survivors. Oncology Nursing Forum, 34, 653–660.Google Scholar
Thune-Boyle, I.C., Stygall, J.A., Keshtgar, M.R., et al. (2006). Do religious/spiritual coping strategies affect illness adjustment in patients with cancer? A systematic review of the literature. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 151–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zika, S. & Chamberlain, K. (1992). On the relation between meaning in life and psychological well-being. British Journal of Psychology, 83, 133–145.Google Scholar
Xuereb, M.C. & Dunlop, R. (2003). The experience of leukaemia and bone marrow transplant: Searching for meaning and agency. Psycho-Oncology, 12, 397–409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed