ABSTRACT
Background: Some studies have shown that patients with cancer may experience significant spiritual distress as well as spiritual growth, that there is a positive association between spirituality and coping, and that positive religious coping predicts enhanced health outcomes.
Purpose: This study was designed to help explain how the meaning of disease and spiritual responses to threatening stressors influence the final experiential outcomes of adults with leukemia undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Iran.
Methods: This grounded theory study conducted in-depth interviews between 2009 and 2011 on 10 adults in Iran with leukemia undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Recorded audio interviews were transcribed verbatim in Persian and coded and analyzed using Corbin and Strauss (2008)'s approach.
Results: Main categories that emerged from data included "experiencing the meaning of cancer"; "changing perceptions of death, life and health"; and "moving toward perfection and sublimity." "Finding meaning" was the main concept that defined the final outcome of the experience of participants.
Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Understanding the meaning to patients of disease and treatments may help healthcare providers better appreciate the patients' perspective and improve the physician-patient relationship. Nurses are well positioned to play a decisive role in helping patients cope effectively with their treatment process and in helping ensure positive outcomes for treatments through their helping patients find the unique meaning of their experience.