Factors influencing the spiritual needs of China’s colorectal cancer patients: A structural equation modeling exercise

Numerous studies indicate that long-term cancer treatment can significantly stress patients, adversely affecting both their emotional well-being and unaddressed spiritual needs. Despite this, there is a notable lack of research aimed at enhancing the spiritual well-being of these patients. Most studies that do touch on spiritual needs tend to be narrow in scope, focusing only on specific influencing factors. The spiritual needs of colorectal cancer patients in the postoperative rehabilitation phase are particularly under-researched. This study aims to identify the spiritual needs of colorectal cancer patients and to analyze the factors that influence these needs. We utilized Generalized Structural Equation Modeling to investigate the interrelationships between psychological resilience, social support, spiritual health, anxiety, depression, and spiritual needs. Additionally, the study delves into the potential mediating roles of psychological resilience, social support, anxiety, depression, and spiritual health in the relationship between selected risk factors and observed variables. In this research, we surveyed1,200 colorectal cancer patients using a range of scales, including the Psychological Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSS), the Spiritual Wellness Scale (FACIT-Sp-12), the Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale(HADS), and the Spiritual Needs Scale (SNS). We analyzed the data using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 24.0software. The results indicate that the model is well-fitted, as confirmed by the goodness-of-fit indices (χ2/df = 2.921, TLI = 0.987, CFI = 0.997, NFI = 0.996, RMSEA = 0.046). The findings obtained highlight the critical need to address the spiritual well-being of Chinese colorectal cancer patients, which continues to be a significant health challenge. Factors such as social support, psychological resilience, spiritual health, anxiety, and depression have both direct and indirect impacts on these needs. As such, healthcare providers and family membersshould consider these factors when offering psychological and social support. This will enable them to provide morecomprehensive spiritual care, thereby enhancing the patients' overall quality of life.