The Relationship between Spiritual Well-Being and Quality of Life among Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Background & aim: Menopause exerts negative impacts on women's quality of life. It seems that drawing on spiritual resources can be effective in improving the quality of life among this population. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and the quality of life of postmenopausal women. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on postmenopausal women referring to Ibn Sina and Amir Hamzeh health centers in Isfahan, Iran in 2018-2019, among whom 340 cases were selected via the non-probability sampling method. The research instruments included the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) developed by Paloutzian and Ellison and the SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21) using descriptive statistical tests and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The obtained results pointed to the positive and significant correlation of existential and religious dimensions of spiritual wellbeing with the eight dimensions of quality of life (p <0.05). Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, spiritual wellbeing and its components are important variables affecting the quality of life of postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is essential to design interventions aiming at strengthening spiritual/religious values and beliefs to promote the health of postmenopausal women and consequently improvement of their quality of life.

Keywords

• spiritual wellbeing
• quality of life
• menopause
• descriptive stud