The Relationships among Hope, Pain, Psychological Distress, and Spiritual Well-Being in Oncology Outpatients

Abstract

Objective: Limited research in Taiwan and Europe suggest that hope is inversely correlated with certain dimensions of the pain experience. However, the relationship between hope and pain among oncology outpatients in the United States has not been evaluated. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between hope and cancer pain, after accounting for key psychological, demographic, and clinical characteristics. Design: We enrolled a convenience sample of 78 patients who were receiving concurrent oncologic and symptom-focused care in a comprehensive cancer center. Patient demographic and clinical information was obtained from patient report and medical record review. Patients completed the Herth Hope Index, the Brief Pain Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Steinhauser Spiritual Concern Probe. Results: Levels of hope were not associated with age, gender, or the presence of metastatic disease. Herth Hope Index scores were negatively correlated with average pain intensity (p = 0.02), worst pain intensity (p < 0.01), pain interference with function (p < 0.05), anxiety (p < 0.01), and depression (p < 0.01), and were positively correlated with spiritual well-being scores (p < 0.01). However, after controlling for depression and spiritual wellbeing with regression analysis, the relationship between pain intensity and hope was no longer significant. Conclusions: While an association exists between the patients' experience of pain and levels of hope in this study, adjustment for depression and spiritual well being eliminates the relationship initially observed. Although the causal relationships have yet to be determined, in our study hope had a stronger connection to psycho-spiritual factors, than to pain experiences or severity.

The German Version of the Herth Hope Index (HHI-D): Development and Psychometric Properties

“…Hope has been measured in relation to a variety of physical and psychological factors such as pain, fatigue, psychological distress, spiritual well-being, quality of life, and family support (e.g. [15,16,17]). Translations of the HHI into Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Iranian, Japanese, and Chinese have been published, with satisfactory psychometric properties (e.g.…”

Hope and perceptions of parental role among parents assessed as maltreating their children

“…These findings are consistent with other findings showing the ability of religious belief to endow persons with hope (Rawdin et al . , Wnuk & Marcinkowski ) and to help them cope with parenting tasks and challenges (Mahoney et al . ).…”

Exploring demands of hemodialysis patients in Taiwan: A two-step cluster analysis

“…Hope has also been shown to be positively correlated with physical functioning and negatively correlated with depression in patients with oral cancer [22]. Consequently, people with high levels of hope and a low levels of depression experience enhanced physical functioning [23][24][25]. These studies highlight the benefits of hope for patients with a chronic disease.…”