Existential Loneliness and Spiritual Well-being as Predictor of Hope among Patient with Chronic Illness

Abstract

Not only do chronic diseases impact a person physically, but they can also take a toll on one's psychological state and spirituality. In this study, the researcher looked into the connections between existential loneliness, spiritual well-being, and hope in people with chronic diseases and tried to determine whether the level of spiritual well-being acted as a mediator for the correlation between existential loneliness and hope. For this research, a quantitative correlational cross-sectional design was utilized. The target group of 342 individuals with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer was recruited from hospitals and medical centers in Gujrat, Pakistan. Three measurement tools were used, namely, the Brief Scale of Existential Loneliness (BSEL), the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), and the Herth Hope Index (HHI). There was a significant negative correlation between existential loneliness and hope, while existential loneliness correlated positively yet weakly with spiritual well-being. Spiritual well-being negatively correlated with hope. There were significant differences in hope and spiritual wellbeing between various groups defined by marital status and type of illness. These results demonstrate the interconnection of multiple aspects such as existential, spiritual, and psychological within chronic illness treatment.