Effectiveness of spiritual-religious interventions in mental health and quality of life of cancer patients: A meta-analysis of studies conducted in Iran

Being informed about cancer is worrying for anyone and causes changes in the health and quality of life (QoL) of the affected person. Improving the quality of life in patients with chronic diseases such as cancer has been one of the important points, especially in the last two decades. Spiritual therapy is a valuable care to improve the quality of life and mental health of cancer patients. However, there are still differences regarding the effect of different types of spirituality- and religion-based treatments on the results of studies. This study aimed to systematically review the results of studies related to the effect of spiritual/religious interventions on improving the mental health and QoL of patients with cancer in Iran.

This study was conducted by systematic review and meta-analysis methods. An electronic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, and SID from 2001 to September 2023. Characteristics of the included interventions and data for meta-analysis were extracted. The quality of the included study was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. The standardized mean difference effect was calculated using a random effects model with 95% confidence. Data was analyzed using RewMan-5 software.

In the first phase of the search, 713 articles were identified. Nineteen studies met the eligibility criteria. Spiritual and religious interventions were compared with a usual care control group or other psychosocial interventions. Compared to the control group, the standardized mean difference in the post-test for the effect of spiritual and religious interventions on mental health (SMD = 1.60, 95% CI = [2.67, 0.54]) and QoL (SMD = 1.93, 95% CI = [1.03, 2.83]) was obtained. The percentage of heterogeneity between the results of studies in mental health (95%) and QoL (93%) was high.

The meta-analysis results indicate that spiritual-religious interventions have a significant positive impact on the mental health and QoL of patients with cancer. Oncology nurses, psychologists, counselors and assistants increasingly recognize the significance of the spiritual domain of care. The current study indicates that facilitating awareness and spiritual needs may be a valuable intervention for cancer patients. Thus, the use of spiritual and religious-based interventions is suggested as a good way to improve spiritual and mental health in patients with cancer.