Spirituality and Religiosity during the Perioperative Period for Cancer Patients and their Family: An Integrative Systematic Review

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Background: Religion and Spirituality (R/S) may influence patient's emotional distress, mental health and healing throughout their diagnosis and treatment. Objective: This systematic review examines studies exploring R/S of patients and their family in the perioperative period. Design: We completed a systematic review of the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, the Web of Science, and Cochrane library concerning the terms religion and spiri- tuality and cancer surgery. Inclusion criteria included qualitative or quantitative studies evaluating R/S of patients or their family members within the perioperative period (one month pre- and post-surgery). Exclusion criteria included review articles, grey literature, edito- rials, case studies and studies evaluating R/S of healthcare providers. Results: Seven publications met criteria for analysis. Five studies described cross-sectional surveys, one used a focus-group approach, and one utilized in-person interviews. Studied popu- lations predominantly were female breast patients. There were considerable heterogene- ity in survey instruments, variables, and outcomes. Based on these studies: 1) Faith and religious beliefs were used as coping mechanisms during the perioperative pe- riod; 2) Evangelical Christians tended to differ in religious coping compared to Catholics; 3) R/S correlated with coping styles and distress; 4) There was increased religious coping and religious involvement during the perioperative period; Conclusions: Studies evaluating R/S of patients and their families in the perioperative period are few and heterogeneous in design. Direct comparison is difficult, but data suggests that R/S during the perioperative period may increase as compared to R/S during other stages of diagnosis and treatment.