Abstract
Objectives: Derive a spiritual well-being classification and thereby enhance understanding of the relation between spiritual well-being, quality of life (QOL), and health among persons with chronic illness or disability. Design: Cluster analyses were performed to develop a spiritual well-being classification. Analysis of variance was used to compare cluster groups on various dimensions of QOL. Setting: Part of a larger QOL study conducted at a midwestern medical center. Patients: A convenience sample of 216 inpatients: amputation (n = 74), postpolio (n = 37), spinal cord injury (n = 34), breast cancer (n = 36), and prostate cancer (n = 35). Minors were excluded from the study. Main Outcome Measures: Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), Medical Outcome Survey-Short Form (SF-36), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Results: Three types of spiritual well-being were identified: religious (n = 146), existential (n = 37), and nonspiritual (n = 30). Significant cluster differences (p < .03 to p < .001) were observed across all QOL domains and life satisfaction. Compared with the other cluster groups, the nonspiritual group reported significantly lower levels of QOL and life satisfaction and the highest proportion of health status change with respect to both improvement and decline in health. Conclusions: Three types of spiritual well-being were empirically identified in this sample. Subtypes differed significantly with respect to various aspects of QOL. Further research is needed to validate this classification and to determine if type of spiritual well-being has a causal effect on treatment outcome or on the recovery process.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 258-264 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 1998 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
From the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, ML Submitted for publication May 27, 1997. Accepted in revised form September 4, 1997. Supported by grant H133P30006 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated. Reprint requests to Barth Riley, PhD, 1118 Nielsen Court, Apartment 4, Ann Arbor, MI48105. © 1998 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 0003-9993/98/7903-452153.00/0
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
- Rehabilitation
