Biomedical subjects

Okihiko Aihara

Publications and source records attributed to Okihiko Aihara.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Spiritual needs in cancer patients and spiritual care based on logotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The suitability of Frankl's logotherapy for the spiritual care (psychotherapy) of cancer patients in Japan is suggested. Using Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp, Japanese version), the Purpose in Life test (PIL test, Japanese version), and WHO-Subjective Inventory (WHO-SUBI, Japanese version), we attempted to elucidate the complicated structure of spirituality in cancer patients in order to identify possible approaches to their spiritual care and means of evaluating such care. MATERIALS: Two hundred and ninety-eight cancer patients participated in the study. All three tests were taken at the same time, and the results were evaluated by principal component analysis. RESULTS: It was demonstrated that all the subscales employed in the present study could be represented by a two-dimensional structure (two principal components), and that the FACIT-Sp and PIL tests have similar contents. DISCUSSION: FACIT-Sp (Japanese version) is very similar in conception to the PIL test, which was prepared in accordance with logotherapy. The results suggest that this test can serve as an adequate evaluation scale for measuring the effectiveness of spiritual care based on Frankl's logotherapy.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Cognitive dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune-mediated collagen disease that results in multiorgan failure. It is the collagen disease most frequently associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms, which have been hypothesized to stem from certain types of cognitive dysfunction. Subjects were 21 patients with SLE (one man, 20 women; aged 16-55 years; mean age, 35.1+/-10.7 years) who were undergoing treatment in the rheumatology unit of a general hospital, and 17 healthy control subjects matched to the patient group with respect to age and gender (two men, 15 women; mean age, 35.9+/-6.3 years). They were administered various tests of cognitive function including verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, verbal memory, non-verbal memory, attention and mental flexibility, psychomotor speed and frontal lobe function. In addition, the SLE patients were tested for antiphospholipid antibodies. The SLE patients performed worse than the control group on immediate, delayed and interference of the Rey verbal test and paired associate tests of Wechsler Memory Scale, and their reaction time was slower in Trail A and Trail B tests. Moreover, these findings were more pronounced in the group with major neuropsychiatric symptoms. However, no relationship was apparent between these deficits in cognitive function and the presence or absence of antiphospholipid antibodies. The results suggest that verbal memory and psychomotor speed underlie the neuropsychiatric symptoms seen in SLE patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Reliability and validity of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp) for Japanese patients with cancer.

The reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp) scale were assessed. This scale was developed in the United States to assess quality of life (QOL) in relation to spirituality. Two surveys were conducted on each of 306 cancer patients. In addition to the FACIT-Sp, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was administered. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, an evaluation of internal consistency, for the FACIT-Sp subscales ranged from 0.81 to 0.91. There were no significant differences between the patients evaluated using the FACIT-Sp subscale and the HADS subscale with regard to degree of religious feelings. The correlation coefficients between the FACIT-Sp and the HADS depression and anxiety scales indicated a moderate correlation. These findings suggest that the Japanese version of the FACIT-Sp scale is satisfactory in terms of reliability and validity and is a useful tool in the study of spirituality among Japanese cancer patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

[Reliability and validity of the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-spiritual (FACIT-Sp) Japanese version in cancer patients--a preliminary study].

The reliability and validity of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp), Japanese version, which was developed in the United States for a simple survey of QOL related to spirituality, was evaluated. The survey simultaneously covered FACIT-Sp and HADS, an anxiety and depression scale, using 64 cancer patients as the subjects of the study. In the evaluation of its intrinsic conformity, the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the sub-scale ranged from 0.80 to 0.91 and the evaluation of validity by factor analysis indicated satisfactory factorial appropriateness. The correlation coefficients for the sub-scales were all below 0.7, indicating that each scale is independent. The correlation with HADS depression and anxiety scales was -0.54 and -0.56, respectively, showing that the emotional and spiritual scales are independent of each other. The findings suggest that The Japanese version of FACIT-Sp is associated with satisfactory reliability and validity and is an effective tool in the study of spirituality among cancer patients.

Adult↗