Status quo and influencing factors of spiritual health in children with acute leukemia during treatment

Objective To explore the status quo and influencing factors of spiritual health in children with acute leukemia during treatment. Methods The children with leukemia admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from August 2018 to April 2019 were selected. The general data questionnaire and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual-12 (FACIT-Sp-12) were used to investigate the status quo of their spiritual health and analyze its influencing factors. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed and 147 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 98%. Results The total score of spiritual health among 147 children with acute leukemia was (25.21±6.62) , including (10.17±3.92) for belief, (8.72±2.58) for meaning, and (9.39±3.28) for peace. There were statistically significance differences in spiritual health scores between children with different age, disease type and educational background of their guardians (P<0.05) . Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, type of disease, and education background of the guardian were factors affecting the spiritual health level of children with leukemia (P<0.05) . Conclusions The spiritual health of children with acute leukemia is at a medium level, which is related to the age, type of disease and educational background of the guardian. Medical staff should provide spiritual care to children with leukemia and improve the quality of life of children. Key words: Leukemia; Child; Quality of life; Spiritual health