The Effects of Spirituality and Religiosity on Well-Being of People With Cancer: A Literature Review on Current Evidences

Abstract

Context: Receiving a diagnosis of cancer can be devastating and life-altering news for any person. Recent studies have shown that spirituality and religiosity may have positive effects on physical and psychological well-being in patients with cancer. This review article aimed to assess the effects of spirituality and religiosity on well-being of patients with cancer. Evidence Acquisition: A literature search was done for related articles published between 2000 and 2014 on PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus for both English and non-English language articles by the following keywords: “cancer”, “spirituality”, “religion/religious/religiosity”, and “Well-being”. Results: Of the 16 studies reviewed, ten studies have found that spirituality and religiosity were positively associated with well-being, two studies found no association, and four studies showed both beneficial and detrimental effects of spirituality and religiosity on well-being of patients with cancer. Conclusions: Most of the reviewed articles showed the important role of religiosity and spirituality in palliative treatment of patients with cancer. It has recommended that medical care team, especially nurses, pay more attention to spiritual and religious beliefs of patients with cancer to improve their well-being.