The relationship of spirituality and religious coping with acceptance of illness in oncological surgery patients

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the level of acceptance of illness and its relationship with spirituality and religious coping in oncological surgery patients. The study was conducted with 95 patients who underwent oncological surgery in the general surgery clinic of a hospital. The study data were collected using the Acceptance of Illness Scale, Religious Coping Scale, Spirituality Scale, and Patient Identification Form. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 25 (SPSS) software package. Patients were observed to accept the illness at a moderate level. Levels of acceptance of illness varied according to duration of illness, duration of treatment, and perception of illness. Patients had high spiritual wellbeing and positive religious coping strategies. Nevertheless, acceptance of illness was not found to be correlated with spirituality and religious coping. Perioperative care practitioners and specialists play an important role in supporting patients’ psychosocial and spiritual needs. Integrating spiritual assessment into perioperative care can improve disease adaptation and surgical outcomes.