Findings on Clinical Oncology Described by Researchers at National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital (Spiritual Status and Quality of Life in Hospice Family Caregivers: A cross-sectional study): Clinical Oncology

2025 OCT 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Cancer Daily -- Investigators discuss new findings in Clinical Oncology. According to news reporting from Goyang, South Korea, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “This study examines the association between spiritual status and quality of life (QoL) among family caregivers (FCs) of terminally ill cancer patients. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at nine hospice care units in South Korea (n=170 FCs).”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, “Spiritual status was addressed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being questionnaire (FACIT-Sp-12) and three self-rated questions that addressed spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain. QoL was measured using the Korean version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer(CQOLC-K) questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis, adjusted for covariates via stepwise selection, was used to examine the associations between spiritual variables and CQOLC-K total and each subscale. In adjusted analyses, Positive Adaptation was the only CQOLC-K subscale associated with all spiritual measures, including Meaning/peace, Faith of FACIT-Sp-12, self-rated spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain. No consistent independent association was observed with the CQOLC-K total. In stratified models, these associations were confined to caregivers with a religious affiliation. Spiritual pain showed subgroup-specific patterns: among religious caregivers it coexisted with higher positive adaptation and greater burden, while among non-religious caregivers it was related to worse financial concerns. In this cohort, spirituality aligned with domain-specific adaptation, and this linkage was limited to caregivers with a religious affiliation.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Brief screening that records a single item for spiritual pain and the presence of religious affiliation may help identify caregivers with a religious affiliation who will benefit from meaning-focused spiritual support, while caregivers without a religious affiliation may benefit more from practical and financial assistance.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Spiritual Status and Quality of Life in Hospice Family Caregivers: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2025. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Pain and Symptom Management - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-pain-and-symptom-management/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Dong Wook Chun, Dept. of Family Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include Youngmin Park, In Cheol Hwang and Hong Yup Ahn.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management is: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA.

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