2388 - Understanding Patient Priorities for Religious and Spiritual Needs during Radiotherapy for Gynecologic Malignancies
Presenter(s)
L. M. Jacobs1, J. Gurewitz2, J. C. Hurwitz3, A. Shah2, K. A. Goodman4, and S. C. Lymberis5; 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 2Department of Radiation Oncology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, 3Department of Radiation Oncology, New York University Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY, 4Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 5Department of Radiation Oncology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY
Purpose/Objective(s):
Patients with gynecologic malignancies are known to experience distress and fear following treatment, and may benefit from emotional and spiritual support. Addressing religion and spirituality (R/S) in the patient care setting is associated with positive healthcare outcomes and quality of life. The FICA spiritual history tool outlines four domains of assessment: Faith or belief, Importance and Influence, spiritual Community, and Address in care. Utilizing the FICA questionnaire, we sought to evaluate the importance of R/S for gynecologic cancer patients who underwent external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) or brachytherapy, and to identify the most meaningful questions from FICA to open these conversations.Materials/Methods: Eleven patients with gynecologic malignancy treated with EBRT or brachytherapy were interviewed with the FICA questionnaire. They were asked to categorize each question as helpful or unhelpful, and select one or two questions they perceived to best facilitate a dialogue with providers.
Results: Average age was 59 years (range 37-74). Religious identities included Christian denominations, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu. Nine out of eleven patients rated the importance of their faith as 5/5. On average, 9.5 out of 11 questions (range 7-11) were thought to be helpful. Six questions were unanimously deemed helpful, ranging across all domains of the FICA tool. The most common questions identified to best facilitate conversation were related to str
ess management: Do you have spiritual beliefs that help you cope with stress? Have your beliefs influenced you in how you handle stress?Conclusion: In gynecologic cancer patients who underwent radiation therapy, conversations regarding R/S are viewed as important across a spectrum of faiths. How R/S helps patients cope with stress was selected as the most meaningful question to open this conversation with providers. Furthermore, engaging patients on R/S invites further conversation regarding stress, coping strategies, and anxiety surrounding treatment. These insights will be explored further in larger sample sizes.