Positive and Negative Religious Coping and Quality of Life in Patients Suffering from Cancer

The cancer experience inspires fresh or renewed interest in religion. Religiosity and religious coping have been found to be significantly associated with better quality of life and improved adjustment to cancer. The present study attempts to assess the religious coping and quality of life of patients suffering from cancer. Objective of the study was to study socio-demographic profile of cancer patients and to assess their religious coping and its association with their quality of life. The present study was conducted on 98 cancer patients, admitted in wards of Radiotherapy and Medicine Departments in M.D.M. Hospital, Jodhpur. Three questionnaires were applied: a semi-structured socio-demographic proforma, brief RCOPE scale and subjective well being inventory. Results suggest that female patients had higher scores on positive religious coping scale. Patients with different cancer types showed little variation in religious coping scale. A strong correlation was found between positive religious coping scores and subjective well-being inventory scores. Present study concluded that greater use of positive religious coping was related to better overall quality of life, while greater use of negative religious coping was associated with worse overall quality of life.