Spiritual Well-Being Levels, Severity of Disease and Mental Health Status of Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of spiritual well-being levels on disease severity, depression, anxiety and stress levels of individuals diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Method: This descriptive study was carried out with 192 individuals diagnosed with COPD who were treated in the chest disease service of a training and research hospital between April and December 2022. Data was obtained using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp-12), COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: Among all patients, 82.3% of the individuals experienced depression, 57.3% anxiety and 79.2% stress symptoms. There was a very weakly negative correlation between the mean FACIT-Sp-12 total score and the mean CAT total score, a moderately negative correlation between the mean FACIT-Sp-12 total score and the mean DASS-21 total score, and a weakly positive correlation between the mean CAT total score and the mean DASS-21 total score. Spiritual well-being was found to predict severity of illness by 0.48%, depression levels by 41.2%, anxiety levels by 0.56% and stress levels by 20.4%. Conclusion: Holistic care should be provided to COPD patients, considering the positive effect of spirituality on disease severity and mental states during the treatment and care process of the patient.