The relationship between spiritual well-being and family cohesion in patientswith Thalassemia Major

Introduction: Thalassemia Major is a chronic disease caused by the absence or deficiency of one or more polypeptide chains of hemoglobin, which is transmitted from generation to generation. As a humanistic dimension of people, spirituality has an effective role in improving and meeting the spiritual needs of patients and their families. Thus, it has gained increasing attention as an essential element of clinical care. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 patients with thalassemia major who were selected usingpurposive sampling from thalassemia major wars of Dezful Large Hospital in 2015. Data were collected by three questionnaires: Demographic data, Standard spiritual well-being scale by Daaleman and Frey and Moos Family Cohesion Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 statistical test, Pearson correlation and linear regression with a significance level of P<0/05. Results: The sample included 101 patients with beta thalassemia major with an average age of 5.4 ± 23.22. Among these, 60.4% were male and the rest were female; and 82.2%were single, and the rest were married. The average score of spiritual well-being and self-efficacy subscales were 9.66 ± 34.58 and 14.68, respectively; which indicates the average level of these variables. Linear regression test results also showed that there was a statistically significant (P<0.05) relationship between spiritual well-being and family cohesion (B=0.25) and between self-efficacy and family cohesion (B=0.24); but there was no significant relationship between life scheme and family cohesion (B=0.16) (P=0.10). Conclusion: In this study it was observed that a significant direct correlation exists between spiritual well-being and family cohesion. The role of the familyas the main supportive institution against the challenges of the life is undeniable. Hence, by increasing the level of spiritual well-being of the patients some steps can be taken to promote the cohesion of patients’ families in order to decrease their spiritual and physical problems.

کلیدواژه ها:

Spiritual well-being ، Spirituality ، Family cohesion ، Thalassemia Major