The Role of Religion/Spirituality in Coping with Cancer: Evidence, Assessment, and Intervention
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Many pathways have been proposed to explain how religion and spirituality may exert salutary influences on well-being.
“Many pathways have been proposed to explain how religion and spirituality may exert salutary influences on well-being (Clements & Ermakova, 2012; Fitchett & Canada, 2010; Lee & Newberg, 2005; Levin & Vanderpool, 1989; Masters, 2008; Oman & Thoresen, 2005; Park, 2007; see Aldwin et al., 2014, for a review).”
From Advancing our understanding of religion and spirituality in the context of behavioral medicine (2017) · cites this paper as Fitchett & Canada, 2010
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Bredle, J. M., Salsman, J. M., Debb, S. M., Arnold, B. J., & Cella, D. F. (2011) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel2010077 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
“In fact, some models of health include spiritual wellbeing as one component of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) [7,8].”
BackgroundFitchett, G. A., Emanuel, L. L., Handzo, G. F., Boyken, L., & Wilkie, D. J. (2015) · BMC Palliative Care · doi:10.1186/s12904-015-0007-1 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
“psychological and social care, despite growing evidence for its importance [6-13].”
BackgroundSelf-citationAdvancing our understanding of religion and spirituality in the context of behavioral medicine
Park, C. L., Masters, K. S., Salsman, J. M., Wachholtz, A., Clements, A. D., Salmoirago-Blotcher, E., Trevino, K., & Wischenka, D. M. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-016-9755-5 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
“This model is derived from, and similar to, a number of proposed models (e.g., Fitchett & Canada, 2010; Lee & Newberg, 2005; Levin & Vanderpool, 1989; Masters, 2008; Oman & Thoresen, 2005; see Aldwin et al., 2014, for an overview of models).”
BackgroundMethodRêgo, F. M. P. D. S., Gonçalves, F., Moutinho, S., Castro, L., & Nunes, R. (2020) · BMC Palliative Care · doi:10.1186/s12904-020-0525-3 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
“This way, spirituality may help both clinicians and researchers with clinical conceptualisation and subsequent treatment planning [16, 65, 66] given that participants who received spiritual care presented lower scores of decisional conflict and higher levels of spiritual wellbeing and quality of life.”
BackgroundShields, M., Kestenbaum, A. R., & Dunn, L. B. (2014) · Palliative & Supportive Care · doi:10.1017/s1478951513001120 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
“Spiritual screening and spiritual history have been more widely studied and purposefully designed to be conducted by clinicians from any discipline (Massey et al., 2004; Fitchett & Canada, 2010).”
BackgroundTesting the Efficacy of Chaplaincy Care
Jankowski, K. R. B., Handzo, G. F., & Flannelly, K. J. (2011) · Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy · doi:10.1080/08854726.2011.616166 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“Fitchett and Canada (2010) have three defined activities that comprise a method to identify spiritual and religious needs: spiritual screening, spiritual history, and spiritual assessment.”
BackgroundRacial/ethnic differences in spiritual well-being among cancer survivors
Canada, A. L., Fitchett, G. A., Murphy, P. E., Stein, K., Portier, K. M., Crammer, C., & Peterman, A. H. (2012) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-012-9439-8 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Self-citationSpiritual distress and spiritual care in advanced heart failure
Gillilan, R. E., Qawi, S., Weymiller, A., & Puchalski, C. M. (2017) · Heart Failure Reviews · doi:10.1007/s10741-017-9635-2 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“The assessment summarizes the needs and resources of the patient, identifies spiritual distress if present, and includes a Spiritual Care Plan with expected outcomes which are communicated with the rest of the team [13].”
Case Study of a Chaplain's Spiritual Care for a Patient with Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancer
Cooper, R. S. (2011) · Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy · doi:10.1080/08854726.2011.559832 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Fitchett, G. A. (2011) · Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy · doi:10.1080/08854726.2011.559829 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“…interest in the role of religion and spirituality in coping with cancer and has collaborated with me and my colleague Patricia Murphy in several research and writing projects (Canada, Murphy, Fitchett, Peterman, & Schover, 2008; Fitchett & Canada, 2010; Murphy, Fitchett, & Canada, 2008).”
BackgroundSelf-citationHaugan, G. (2014) · Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences · doi:10.1111/scs.12123 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Douglas, S. L., & Daly, B. J. (2012) · Palliative & Supportive Care · doi:10.1017/s1478951512000570 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“In contrast, studies that have focused on the relationship of religious coping and spiritual strengths have consistently shown better psychological adjustment and management of disease-related symptoms (Fitchett & Canada, 2010; McClain, Rosenfeld, & Breitbart, 2003).”
ResultMeaning-in-Life: A Vital Salutogenic Resource for Health
Haugan, G., & Dezutter, J. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-63135-2_8 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Religious/spiritual concerns of patients with brain cancer and their caregivers
Sprik, P. J., Tata, B., Kelly, B., & Fitchett, G. A. (2020) · Annals of Palliative Medicine · doi:10.21037/apm-20-813 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Over the past 20 years a substantial body of research about religion and spirituality (R/S) and coping with cancer has emerged (1-4).”
BackgroundSelf-citationSpiritual Care for Palliative Patients
Handzo, G. F. (2011) · Current Problems in Cancer · doi:10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2011.10.011 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Hsieh, Y., Roh, S., & Lee, Y.-S. (2019) · Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services · doi:10.1177/1044389419853113 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“In health care settings, some health models include spiritual well-being as one important component of health-related quality of life in coping with cancer (Cotton, Levine, Fitzpatrick, Dold, & Targ, 1999; Fitchett & Canada, 2010).”
BackgroundRettger, J. P., Wall, K. E., Corwin, D., Davidson, A., Lukoff, D. G., & Koopman, C. (2015) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare3020263 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“CAM approaches described in the literature for breast cancer patients typically address the dimensions of thought, body, and emotions; most do not specifically aim to integrate spirituality, with few exceptions [5,8,16–18].”
BackgroundHave a little faith: measuring the impact of illness on positive and negative aspects of faith
Salsman, J. M., Garcia, S. F., Lai, J., & Cella, D. F. (2011) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.2051 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Spiritual Care in Palliative Care
Lichter, D. A. (2019) · Philosophy and medicine · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05005-4_7 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Witt, J., Elwyn, G. J., Wood, F., Rogers, M. T., Menon, U., & Brain, K. E. (2014) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2014.07.004 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Others might turn to their faith [82,83].”
Sense of meaning influences mental functioning in chronic renal patients
Iani, L., Lauriola, M., Angeramo, A.-R., Malinconico, E., & Porcelli, P. (2018) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105318781908 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Despite research showing the benefits of spiritual assessment and care for ESRD patients, their spiritual needs are supported minimally or not at all in clinical practice (Davison and Jhangri, 2010b; Fitchett and Canada, 2010).”
BackgroundThe role of the chaplain in palliative care
Handzo, G. F., & Puchalski, C. M. (2015) · doi:10.1093/med/9780199656097.003.0045 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Mirhosseini, S., Moslemi, F., Nia, H. S., Minaei-Moghadam, S., Khajeh, M., Abbasi, A., & Ebrahimi, H. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-02528-z · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“In healthcare settings or among patients with serious illnesses, spiritual well-being can provide a sense of hope and peace, even amidst severe health challenges [62, 63].”
Dames, L. S. (2013) · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The role of the chaplain in palliative care
Handzo, G. F., & Puchalski, C. M. (2021) · doi:10.1093/med/9780198821328.003.0020 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
What Are Sources of Spiritual and Existential Suffering for Patients With Advanced Disease?
Handzo, T. R. G., & Meyerson, E. M. (2012) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-1-4377-3796-7.00081-1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Palyatif Bakımda Manevi Danışmanlık ve Rehberlik Hizmetlerinin Psiko-Teolojik Temelleri
Koç, M. (2025) · Türk Manevi Danışmanlık ve Rehberlik Dergisi · doi:10.56432/tmdrd.1757749 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Impact of Culture and Beliefs in Cancer Care: Turkish Experience
(2021) · Internal Medicine Research – Open Journal · doi:10.31038/imroj.2021616 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“In our practice, we see an association between the severity of pain and depression [17-20].”
Have a little faith: Measuring the impact of illness on positive and negative aspects of faith
Salsman, J. M., Garcia, S. F., Lai, J., & Cella, D. F. (2010) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e548132012-087 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Religione, coping e salute: una tematica complessa
Golasmici, S. (2015) · RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA · doi:10.3280/rip2015-002009
Bélanger, B., Charbonneau, C., Beauregard, L., Biron, C., & Poulin, S. P. (2021) · Théologiques · doi:10.7202/1074681ar
Peery, B. (2021). Outcome Oriented Chaplaincy: Perceptive, Intentional, and Effective Caring
Nolan, R. D. S. (2022) · Health and Social Care Chaplaincy · doi:10.1558/hscc.23006
“Helpfully, Peery delineates assessment (more specifically, what he terms “conscious assessment”) according to Fitchett and Canada’s (2010) three-part process that includes: spiritual screen, “completed at admission by someone other than a chaplain” (2021, p.”
BackgroundSpirituality and Its Impact on Cancer Patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life
Aziz, N. (2022) · CARC Research in Social Sciences · doi:10.58329/criss.v1i1.2
The Role of the Palliative Care Chaplain in the United States
Peñate, E., Kestenbaum, A. R., & Byrne-Martelli, S. E. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-50864-6_32
Addressing Patients’ Spiritual Health in Clinical Settings
Puchalski, C. M., & Remein, C. D. (2026) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197757635.003.0024
- Authors
- Fitchett, G., & Canada, A. L.
- Venue
- Psycho-Oncology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Published
- 2010-04
- Pages
- 440-446
- OpenAlex
- W2495886549
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 14.44
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Oxford University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
- Keywords
- religion, spirituality, cancer, coping, spiritual assessment, intervention, religious coping
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