STUDY OF SUFFERING, HOPE, HEALING, AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN PERSONS RECEIVING HEMODIALYSIS.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 153
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Clinical.; Psychology, Physiological.
Description: This is a correlational study in which the relationships among suffering, hope, and healing were investigated. Specifically, in a sample of hemodialysis patients (N = 60), the relationships among the capacity for finding meaning in the experience of suffering, the experience of hope, and the capacity for experiencing healing were correlated through data obtained from three self-report instruments. The instruments used were the Meaning in Suffering Test I, the Miller Hope Scale, and the Purpose in Life Test. In addition, demographic variables were correlated with each of the three main study variables. Lastly, data obtained from an instrument designed to measure Nurse's Perception of Patient Adjustment were also correlated with the study variables as well as with the demographic variables.

Results of the study demonstrated significant correlations among the three study variables--suffering, hope, and healing. The conclusion drawn from this study is that the experience of suffering is a potentially significant event in the life of an individual and that nurses need to be prepared to help individuals engage with their experiences of suffering in a meaningful way. In finding value in one's suffering, one is often able to experience greater degrees of hope. Hope has been found to be a significant factor in enhancing the healing process.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-07, Section: B, page: 3693.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1995.

School code: 0055.