Religious coping strategies: the impact on physical and psychological symptoms of patients with cancer

Introduction & Aim: Spiritual and religious activities are considered as an important resource against chronic diseases to maintain and improve the self-esteem of patients, to create a sense of purpose and meaning in life, and the hope may increase the psychological relief of. This study aimed to investigate the religious coping strategies and their relationship with physical and psychological symptoms of cancer patients referred to the Oncology Hospital of Kerman, Iran in 2014. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 159 cancer patients were selected by convenience sampling. Data were gathered using a four-section questionnaire including: 1) demographic and disease-related characteristics, 2) religious coping strategies, 3) physical symptoms and 4) psychological symptoms. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18. Results: Among religious coping strategies dimensions, the higher and lower scores belonged to religious practice and Negative Feelings toward God’ respectively. The frequent physical symptoms that were perceived by patients with cancer were fatigue, drowsiness and loss of appetite. There was no significant relationship between religious coping strategies and physicaland psychological symptoms (P > 0.05). Conclusion: By doing religious counseling programs can reduce the physical and psychological effects of the disease and ultimately to enhanced quality of life for patients

کلیدواژه ها:

Religious coping strategy ، physical symptom ، psychological symptom ، cancer