Quality of life and spiritual needs of patients diagnosed with cancer in a tertiary hospital in southwestern Nigeria

Objective

In Africa, cancer is considered a death sentence. Its impact can be debilitating for the patient and those who care for them. This study therefore assessed the spiritual needs and Quality of life of Cancer patients in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Methods

This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. We systematically recruited 302 cancer patients who visited the cancer registry and outpatient departments. A standardized and validated Spiritual needs questionnaire (SpNQ) and WHO Quality of Life (WHOQL) were used to collect data. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 23 with a significance level set at p < 0.05.

Results

The preponderance cancer among respondents was breast cancer 146 (48.4%) followed by prostate cancer 41 (13.6%). Most of the respondents admitted having “strong” spiritual needs. Categorization of the spiritual need score was below average in 20% of the respondents which indicated those with low spiritual needs and the majority 241 (79.8%) of the patients had high spiritual needs. Most respondents had poor quality of life in all four domains. The spiritual care needs of respondents were significantly associated with the quality of life of the respondents particularly in the psychological domain (p = 0.040) and social domain (p = 0.005).

Conclusion

This study revealed high spiritual needs and poor quality of life among cancer patients. Healthcare practitioners should provide for the spiritual needs of cancer patients to enhance their quality of life.