In Middle Eastern societies, spirituality and religiosity play a central role in people’s lives, regardless of faith tradition. This study investigates whether adult inpatients with cancer or critical illnesses wish to discuss their spiritual background during hospitalization, how their spiritual and religious convictions influence their medical decisions, and whether these beliefs provide emotional support in coping with disease. A structured questionnaire covering demographic details and spirituality-related questions was created and distributed to 100 patients as part of a cross-sectional study. The instrument underwent psychometric testing to establish reliability and validity, including a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Promax rotation to identify underlying dimensions. Further statistical analyses examined relationships between patient demographics and their spiritual preferences. Findings confirmed that the questionnaire is both reliable and valid for evaluating spiritual needs among this population. Nearly half of the respondents (45%) expressed interest in being asked about their spirituality, yet only a small fraction (4%) had actually discussed it with their medical team. Both Christian and Muslim participants demonstrated comparable interest in spiritual assessment. Compared with Lebanese participants, non-Lebanese patients were 4.8 times more likely to wish their spirituality to be acknowledged and twice as likely to believe it supported them in managing their illness (p < 0.05). Those in critical care units and patients with fewer hospital admissions in the previous year also showed a significantly higher interest in spiritual discussion (p < 0.05). Healthcare providers require formal training to better incorporate spirituality into patient-centered care, taking cultural context into account. Within this framework, caring for chronically ill patients should include acknowledging and addressing their spiritual concerns throughout their treatment journey.
