The Relation between spiritual wellbeing and psychological resilience among patients diagnosed with advanced gastrointestinal cancer

The purpose of this study is to determine the relation between spiritual wellbeing and psychological resilience among patients diagnosed with advanced gastrointestinal cancer. The study was performed as a descriptive correlational study, with the participation of patients hospitalized in the oncology clinics of three university hospital. The study population comprised 1318 patients aged 18 or older who were admitted to the two oncology clinics and policlinics of the university hospital. The sample size was determined as 297, the significance level of 0.05, the effect size of 0.08, and the ability to represent the population of 0.95 by the power analysis performed to determine the sample of the study. The study was completed with 302 patients. The Patient Introduction Form prepared by the researcher, FACIT Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT–Sp), and The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) were used to collect data. In the study, the minimum score obtained by the patients participating in the study from the FACIT-Sp was 15; whereas, their maximum score was 41; the total mean score of the scale was 31.41 ± 4.83. For the BRS scale, their minimum score was 6, their maximum score was 30, and the scale total mean score was 19.17 ± 4.89. When examining FACIT-Sp and BRS mean scores of the patients, it was found that their spiritual wellbeing levels were high and their psychological resilience was moderate A statistically positive correlation was found between the FACIT -Sp and BRS total mean scores of the patients in the study (p = 0.00). With increasing spiritual levels of in advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients, their psychological resilience also increased in the study. Cancer not only affects the patients physically, but also spiritually. It can be recommended for nurses, who take significant roles in the patient care, to approach patients holistically by involving their spiritual side into care.