title: Prevalence and Nature of Spiritual Distress Among Palliative Care Patients in India.
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.
authors.affiliation: Center for Healthcare Ethics, 301A Fisher Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15282, USA. gielenj@duq.edu.
authors.forename: Joris
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gielen
authors.affiliation: Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Care, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sushma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560029, India.
authors.forename: Santosh K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chaturvedi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cancer; India; Palliative care; Spirituality