Meaning in Life in Palliative Care Patients

Fegg, Martin; Brandstätter, Monika; Kramer, Mechtild; Kögler, Monika; Haarmann-Doetkotte, S.; Borasio, Gian Domenico

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.02.010

Cited by 65 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…From this we can conclude that at the root of these two factors there is one common motivational attitude that urges one to search for meaning. Those who found meaning in their illness showed a lower level of automatic thoughts, anxiety and depression that is in accordance with literature (FEGG et al 2008;FEGG et al 2010;OKANLI & ASI KARAKAS 2014). However, these correlations are not significant most likely because of the relatively small sample size and other unidentified variables.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

The relation of perceived meaning of life, meaning of illness and anxious-depressive symptoms among cancer patients

Elekes¹

2017

EJMH

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Our research is based on the literature that shows meaningfulness is a correlate of mental health both in the general population and in the case of patients with a serious illness such as cancer. We had two major goals: 1) to identify the meaning-categories patients find in their illness; 2) to test the relationships between perceived meaning of life, meaning of illness and negative indicators of well-being, like automatic thoughts, anxiety, depression in the case of a population of cancer patients from Romania.This study was completed in March-June of 2012. A number of 102 cancer patients, interned in the 'Ion Chiricuta' Oncology Institute in Romania, completed a battery of scales that measured perceived meaning of life (Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Meaning in Life after Cancer), the intensity of automatic thoughts (Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire), anxiety, depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and answered the question whether they found any meaning in their lives.We could identify the following categories of meaning patients found in their illness: character change, greater appreciation of life, change of priorities, spiritual growth, greater appreciation of close relationships, clarification of goals, development of self-knowledge.In accordance with the literature, our results show that perceived meaning of life (measured by MLaC), correlates negatively with automatic thoughts (r = -0.606), anxiety (r = -0.576), and depression (r = -0.542), and these relations are significant (p = 0.000). Patients who found their illness meaningful, found more meaning in their lives as well (t = 3.041, p = 0.003), and they showed lower levels of anxiety and depression, but these correlations are not significant (p = 0.567 and 0.116).Keywords: cancer patients, existential concerns, meaning of life, meaning of illness, anxiety, depression. Im Einklang mit der Literatur zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass der wahrgenommene Sinn des Lebens (gemessen mit MLaC) negativ mit automatischen Gedanken (r = -0,606), Angst (r = -0,576) und Depression (r = -0,542) korreliert und diese Relationen signifikant sind (p = 0,000). Patienten, die ihre Krankheit als sinnhaft empfanden, sahen auch in ihrem Leben insgesamt mehr Sinn (t = 3,041, p = 0,003) und hatten weniger Angst und Depressionen, wobei diese Korrelationen nicht signifikant sind (p = 0,567 and 0,116). Das Verhältnis zwischen dem wahrgenommenen Sinn des

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

The relation of perceived meaning of life, meaning of illness and anxious-depressive symptoms among cancer patients

Elekes¹

2017

EJMH

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“…MiL is relevant to healthy populations [2,4,5], but has also aroused interest among clinicians working in palliative care [2,5,6] and with neurodegenerative disorders [7]. As MiL is a central feature of certain psychotherapeutic interventions [8,9], the SMiLE may be useful for evaluating them.…”

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confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the Spanish form of the schedule for meaning in life evaluation (SMiLE)

et al. 2010

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“…Most commonly used definitions describe spirituality as the inner essence of life, a dimension of the whole person, that is integral to and interacts with all other aspects of life, both physical and psychosocial [13][14][15][16]. Equally popular is the understanding that spirituality provides meaning and purpose to life and facilitates self-transcendence [2,12,17,18]. Spirituality involves relationship with God, others, nature and oneself [19][20][21].…”

Section: Spirituality At the End Of Life: The Gap Between The Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

History, Culture and Traditions: The Silent Spaces in the Study of Spirituality at the End of Life

Inbadas

2016

Religions

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Recent increase in the number of studies on spirituality manifests growing recognition of the importance of spirituality, as well as mounting interest in studying spirituality in healthcare. Most studies on spirituality in end of life care focus on identifying specific features of spirituality and often represent an individualistic understanding of spirituality. They seldom engage in a historical-cultural exploration of the contextual meanings of those features of spirituality. This paper aims to demonstrate the absence of contextual factors in studying spirituality at the end of life and to highlight the growing recognition of the importance of history, culture and traditions as resources to enrich our understanding of spirituality. An exploration of the concept of spirituality, an overview of the trajectory of the study of spirituality and a review of existing methodological stances reveal the silent space in current approaches to understanding spirituality at the end of life. Recognition of the importance of these contextual factors in understanding spirituality is growing, which is yet to influence the conceptualization and the conduct of spirituality research. Contextual understandings of spirituality that incorporate insights from the history, culture and traditions of specific contexts can inform effective means for providing spiritual support in clinical practice.

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Meaning in Life in Palliative Care Patients

Abstract: These findings underscore the potential of the SMiLE for identifying areas that are particularly important to individuals, and that can be targeted by the PC team to improve overall life satisfaction at the end of life.

Cited by 65 publications

References 27 publications

The relation of perceived meaning of life, meaning of illness and anxious-depressive symptoms among cancer patients

The relation of perceived meaning of life, meaning of illness and anxious-depressive symptoms among cancer patients

Psychometric properties of the Spanish form of the schedule for meaning in life evaluation (SMiLE)

History, Culture and Traditions: The Silent Spaces in the Study of Spirituality at the End of Life

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