Evaluation of the relationship between spiritual well-being, social dignity, and quality of life in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease

Introduction: With respect to the growing elderly population, the need for attention to their quality of life (QOL) increases. Two of the factors affecting their quality of life (QOL) are spiritual well-being and social dignity. This study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the relationship between spiritual well-being, Materials and Methods: One hundred fifty elderly patients with cardiovascular disease who were admitted to the only cardiac center in Ilam were evaluated in the present descriptive analytical research. The tools used included the Ellison and Paloutzian spiritual health questionnaires, the social dignity questionnaire for heart patients, and the sf-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive & inferential statistics. Results: The findings showed that most of the participants had moderate spiritual health, moderate social dignity, and a fairly good QOL. Patients’ social dignity improved by improving their spiritual health and their QOL. Also, the elderly men had better spiritual health, social dignity, and QOL than did the elderly women. Conclusion: With respect to the effects of social dignity and spiritual health on the QOL of patients with cardiovascular disease, interventions to improve their spiritual health and social dignity in order to increase their QOL are recommended. © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.