The role of spirituality and religious coping in the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative radiation therapy.

OBJECTIVES: National palliative care guidelines outline spiritual care as a domain of palliative care, yet patients' religiousness and/or spirituality (R/S) are underappreciated in the palliative oncology setting. Among patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative radiation therapy (RT), this study aims to characterize patient spirituality, religiousness, and religious coping; examine the relationships of these variables to quality of life (QOL); and assess patients' perceptions of spiritual care in the cancer care setting. METHODS: This is a multisite, cross-sectional survey of 69 patients with advanced cancer (response rate = 73%) receiving palliative RT. Scripted interviews assessed patient spirituality, religiousness, religious coping, QOL (McGill QOL Questionnaire), and perceptions of the importance of attention to spiritual needs by health providers. Multivariable models assessed the relationships of patient spirituality and R/S coping to patient QOL, controlling for other significant predictors of QOL. RESULTS: Most participants (84%) indicated reliance on R/S beliefs to cope with cancer. Patient spirituality and religious coping were associated with improved QOL in multivariable analyses (ß = 10.57, P < .001 and ß = 1.28, P = .01, respectively). Most patients considered attention to spiritual concerns an important part of cancer care by physicians (87%) and nurses (85%). LIMITATIONS: Limitations include a small sample size, a cross-sectional study design, and a limited proportion of nonwhite participants (15%) from one US region. CONCLUSION: Patients receiving palliative RT rely on R/S beliefs to cope with advanced cancer. Furthermore, spirituality and religious coping are contributors to better QOL. These findings highlight the importance of spiritual care in advanced cancer care.

An Evaluation of the Use of Performance Measures in Health Care.

The National Quality Forum (NQF), a private, nonprofit membership organization committed to improving health care quality performance measurement and reporting, was awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a portfolio of quality and efficiency measures. The portfolio of measures would allow the federal government to examine how and whether health care spending is achieving the best results for patients and taxpayers. As part of the scope of work under the HHS contract, NQF was required to conduct an independent evaluation of the uses of NQF-endorsed measures for the purposes of accountability (e.g., public reporting, payment, accreditation, certification) and quality improvement. In September 2010, NQF entered into a contract with the RAND Corporation for RAND to serve as the independent evaluator. This article presents the results of the evaluation study. It describes how performance measures are being used by a wide array of organizations and the types of measures being used for different purposes, summarizes key barriers and facilitators to the use of measures, and identifies opportunities for easing the use of performance measures moving forward.

Addressing spirituality within the care of patients at the end of life: perspectives of patients with advanced cancer, oncologists, and oncology nurses.

PURPOSE: Attention to patients' religious and spiritual needs is included in national guidelines for quality end-of-life care, but little data exist to guide spiritual care. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Religion and Spirituality in Cancer Care Study is a multi-institution, quantitative-qualitative study of 75 patients with advanced cancer and 339 cancer physicians and nurses. Patients underwent semistructured interviews, and care providers completed a Web-based survey exploring their perspectives on the routine provision of spiritual care by physicians and nurses. Theme extraction was performed following triangulated procedures of interdisciplinary analysis. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models assessed relationships between participants' characteristics and attitudes toward spiritual care. RESULTS: The majority of patients (77.9%), physicians (71.6%), and nurses (85.1%) believed that routine spiritual care would have a positive impact on patients. Only 25% of patients had previously received spiritual care. Among patients, prior spiritual care (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 14.65; 95% CI, 1.51 to 142.23), increasing education (AOR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.49), and religious coping (AOR, 4.79; 95% CI, 1.40 to 16.42) were associated with favorable perceptions of spiritual care. Physicians held more negative perceptions of spiritual care than patients (P < .001) and nurses (P = .008). Qualitative analysis identified benefits of spiritual care, including supporting patients' emotional well-being and strengthening patient-provider relationships. Objections to spiritual care frequently related to professional role conflicts. Participants described ideal spiritual care to be individualized, voluntary, inclusive of chaplains/clergy, and based on assessing and supporting patient spirituality. CONCLUSION: Most patients with advanced cancer, oncologists, and oncology nurses value spiritual care. Themes described provide an empirical basis for engaging spiritual issues within clinical care.

The relationship of spiritual concerns to the quality of life of advanced cancer patients: preliminary findings.

PURPOSE: Religion and/or spirituality (R/S) have increasingly been recognized as key elements in patients' experience of advanced illness. This study examines the relationship of spiritual concerns (SCs) to quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were recruited between March 3, 2006 and April 14, 2008 as part of a survey-based study of 69 cancer patients receiving palliative radiotherapy. Sixteen SCs were assessed, including 11 items assessing spiritual struggles (e.g., feeling abandoned by God) and 5 items assessing spiritual seeking (e.g., seeking forgiveness, thinking about what gives meaning in life). The relationship of SCs to patient QOL domains was examined using univariable and multivariable regression analysis. RESULTS: Most patients (86%) endorsed one or more SCs, with a median of 4 per patient. Younger age was associated with a greater burden of SCs (ß = -0.01, p = 0.006). Total spiritual struggles, spiritual seeking, and SCs were each associated with worse psychological QOL (ß = -1.11, p = 0.01; ß = -1.67, p < 0.05; and ß = -1.06, p < 0.001). One of the most common forms of spiritual seeking (endorsed by 54%)--thinking about what gives meaning to life--was associated with worse psychological and overall QOL (ß = - 5.75, p = 0.02; ß = -12.94, p = 0.02). Most patients (86%) believed it was important for health care professionals to consider patient SCs within the medical setting. CONCLUSIONS: SCs are associated with poorer QOL among advanced cancer patients. Furthermore, most patients view attention to SCs as an important part of medical care. These findings underscore the important role of spiritual care in palliative cancer management.