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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psycho-Oncology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1457027
This article is part of the Research Topic Spirituality and Religion: Implications for Mental Health View all 21 articles

Religion, Culture, and Cancer: Insights from a Qualitative Study on Coping Experiences of Filipino Patients

Provisionally accepted
Fereshteh Ahmadi Fereshteh Ahmadi 1Saeid Zandi Saeid Zandi 1*Mae-Lanie Poblete Mae-Lanie Poblete 2
  • 1 University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
  • 2 Mindanao State University, Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan, Philippines

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Meaning-making coping is used by people with cancer to help them deal with the stress and emotional turmoil associated with their diagnosis. It is a multifaceted approach that can be influenced by cultural, existential, and personal factors. Research on meaning-making coping among Filipinos diagnosed with cancer is sparse. This study examines how a sample of Filipino people with cancer cope with their illnesses. We employed a qualitative approach. The study involved 20 participants with various types of cancer in the Philippines who were selected through purposive sampling and agreed to be interviewed. The thematic analysis of the interviews revealed the application of both religious and secular meaning-making coping by participants. The study also confirmed the potential influence of culture on coping strategies. The results indicate that religion plays a significant role in Filipino coping mechanisms, given that the Philippines is predominantly a Christian nation. Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of close family ties in Filipino culture and how it contributes to coping with cancer.

    Keywords: cancer survivors, Coping process, coping resources, coping strategies, Faith, Meaningmaking, Religious coping, spirituality

    Received: 29 Jun 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ahmadi, Zandi and Poblete. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Saeid Zandi, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.