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Prevalence and Nature of Spiritual Distress Among Palliative Care Patients in India

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Abstract

In palliative care research, little attention has been paid to the empirical study of spirituality in patients in non-Western countries. This study describes the prevalence and nature of spiritual distress among Indian palliative care patients. Data from 300 adult cancer patients who had completed a questionnaire with 36 spirituality items were analyzed. Spirituality was shaped by the Indian religious and economic context. A latent class analysis resulted in three clusters: trustful patients (46.4 %), spiritually distressed patients (17.4 %), and patients clinging to divine support (36.2 %). After regression, the clusters were found to be associated with pain scores (p < .001), gender (p = .034), and educational level (p < .006). More than half of the patients would benefit from spiritual counselling. More research and education on spirituality in Indian palliative care is urgently required.

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank Jordan Potter, graduate assistant at the Center for Healthcare Ethics of Duquesne University, for editing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Healthcare Ethics, 301A Fisher Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15282, USA

    Joris Gielen

  2. Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Care, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India

    Sushma Bhatnagar

  3. Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560029, India

    Santosh K. Chaturvedi

Authors
  1. Joris Gielen
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  2. Sushma Bhatnagar
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  3. Santosh K. Chaturvedi
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Correspondence to Joris Gielen.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Joris Gielen is a postdoctoral fellow of the Research Fund-Flanders (FWO). This fellowship enabled him to work on this study.

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Gielen, J., Bhatnagar, S. & Chaturvedi, S.K. Prevalence and Nature of Spiritual Distress Among Palliative Care Patients in India. J Relig Health 56, 530–544 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0252-5

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