Relationship between death anxiety, spiritual well-being, and social support in patients with gynecologic cancer

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between death anxiety, spiritual well-being, and social support in patients with gynecological cancer. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2023 and September 2024. The study population consisted of patients with gynecological cancers, either receiving follow-up care at the gynecology outpatient clinic or hospitalized in the gynecology-oncology ward of a hospital in Adana, Turkey. A total of 519 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Data were collected using a "Personal Information Form," the "Death Anxiety Scale," the "Spiritual Well-Being Scale," and the "Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale." Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were applied, with the significance level set at p<0.05 The results revealed that 63% of the patients were aged between 45-65 years; 36.6% had ovarian cancer, 32.6% had corpus uteri cancer, and 25.4% had cervical cancer. A diagnosis had been made 13-24 months prior in 49.5% of the patients, and surgery combined with chemotherapy was the most common treatment method. The mean total score of the Death Anxiety Scale was 6.8±2.956.8, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale 31.16±5.2431.16, and the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale 62.46±13.762.46. A positive correlation was found between the scores of the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. However, death anxiety levels were not influenced by spiritual well-being or social support levels (p<0.001). The Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale were identified as factors that best explain each other. The findings suggest that patients with gynecological cancers experience a moderate level of death anxiety, while their levels of spiritual well-being and perceived social support are high. As the level of perceived social support increases, spiritual well-being also increases; however, no significant relationship was found between death anxiety and either spiritual well-being or perceived social support.