A Latent Profile Analysis of Spiritual Well-being and Their Relation to Perceived Social Support and Hope in Patients with Early-stage Lung Cancer

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the subtypes of spiritual well-being among patients with early-stage lung cancer, examine the characteristics of each subtype, and determine the relationship between spiritual well-being and perceived social support as well as hope within these subtypes.

Methods: A sample of 418 patients with early-stage lung cancer from three hospitals in Hubei Province completed the general sociodemographic questionnaire, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Herth Hope Index. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify the patterns of spiritual well-being in patients with early-stage lung cancer, and influencing factors of different patterns were identified by univariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results: Three latent classes were identified: the "low spiritual well-being" (C1, 33.97%), the "moderate spiritual well-being" (C2, 38.28%), and the "high spiritual well-being" (C3, 27.75%). Factors such as nationality, religion, annual household disposable income, perceived social support scores, and hope scores influenced the potential categories of spiritual well-being in patients with early-stage lung cancer.

Conclusions: The spiritual well-being of patients with early-stage lung cancer varies, necessitating customized spiritual care to meet the diverse needs of patients. Additionally, providing comprehensive social support and helping patients achieve positive states of spiritual well-being can promote better cancer treatment outcomes.