Determination of the relationship between spirituality and hopelessness in cancer patients

Determining the Relationship Between Spirituality and Hopelessness in Cancer Patients Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between spirituality and hopelessness in cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This relational descriptive research was conducted between December 2018 and June 2020. The population of the study consisted of 3700 adult patients who applied to the oncology service and polyclinics of İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center and who were diagnosed with cancer. The study sample was determined as 586 patients with the help of known sample calculation. The study was completed with 650 patients in order to reduce the margin of error. The Introductory Characteristics Form, Spiritual Orientation Scale (SOS) and Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) were used to collect data. Results: Cancer patients were found to have high levels of spirituality (89.74 ± 32.79) and low levels of hopelessness (6.50 ± 5.61). There was a statistically significant difference between the SOS mean scores of the patients included in the study and their identifying characteristics (gender, age, marital status, educational status, employment status, income status) (p <0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the BHS mean scores of the patients and their characteristics (age, marital status, income) of the patients (p <0.05). Conclusion: There is a negative relationship between spirituality and hopelessness. As the patients' level of spirituality increases, their level of hopelessness decreases. Keywords: Cancer, Spirituality, Hopelessness