title: Spiritual well-being and quality of life among Icelanders receiving palliative care: data from Icelandic pilot-testing of a provisional measure of spiritual well-being from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.
abstract: Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life (QoL). This study examined the feasibility of the Icelandic version of a provisional European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) measure of spiritual well-being (SWB), and explored the relationship between SWB and QoL for palliative care patients in Iceland. Instruments from the EORTC were used: the provisional measure of SWB, which was undergoing pilot-testing in Iceland, and the EORTC QLQ C15-PAL. The correlation between scores was examined and descriptive statistics were used. Structured interviews explored feasibility. Thirty persons participated with average age 72 years. Belief in God or a higher power had the mean 3.33 on a 1-4 scale and the mean for overall SWB was 5.73 on a 1-7 scale. The mean score for global health/QoL was 59.4, physical functioning 48.5 and emotional functioning 78.9 on a 0-100 scale. Overall QoL was positively correlated with SWB showing r(30) = 0.386, P = 0.035. The participants found that answering the provisional EORTC QLQ-SWB prompted an emotional response and took the opportunity to discuss the subject. The provisional SWB measure was found relevant for the Icelandic context, and the study indicates that SWB and QoL are closely connected.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.|Palliative Care Unit, Landspitali - The National University Hospital, Kopavogur, Iceland.
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Asgeirsdottir
authors.affiliation: Palliative Care Unit, Landspitali - The National University Hospital, Kopavogur, Iceland.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sigurdardottir
authors.affiliation: Landspitali - The National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gunnarsdottir
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sigurbjörnsson
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Traustadottir
authors.affiliation: NHS Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vivat
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: assessment; cancer; measure; palliative care; quality of life; spiritual well-being