March 17, 2009

  • Religious coping on death

    Christians were more likely to believe that God can influence cure than were Jewish and agnostic patients, and there was a trend toward Christians believing that God gives strength to be 'at peace' with illness. [4]

    According to a recent study in the March 18 issue of JAMA, patients suffered from advanced cancer who used their religious faith to help cope were more likely to receive intensive life-prolonging medical care such as mechanical ventilation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation during their last week of life. [1]

    Dr. Andrea C. Phelps and her group at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, asked 345 patients with advanced cancer about how much they rely on religion to cope with illness. A total of 272 patients (78.8 percent) reported that religion helps them cope "to a moderate extent" or more. Dr Phelps found that patients with a high level of positive religious coping at the start of the study had nearly three times the odds of receiving mechanical ventilation and intensive life-prolonging care in the last week of life compared with patients with a low level of religious coping. [1]

    A high level of positive religious coping also wanted physicians to do everything possible to keep them alive. These results suggest that relying upon religion to cope with terminal cancer may contribute to receiving aggressive medical care near death. However, aggressive end-of-life cancer care is always associated with poor quality of death and caregiver bereavement adjustment. [1]

    This study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Mental Health, and by a Fetzer Institute grant on spirituality at the end of life. [2]

    Thus, patients need to let their doctors know that faith is important to them and that it's playing a role in how they adjust to a terminal illness. [3]

    Journal Reference

    Andrea C. Phelps; Paul K. Maciejewski; Matthew Nilsson; Tracy A. Balboni; Alexi A. Wright; M. Elizabeth Paulk; Elizabeth Trice; Deborah Schrag; John R. Peteet; Susan D. Block; Holly G. Prigerson. Religious Coping and Use of Intensive Life-Prolonging Care Near Death in Patients With Advanced Cancer. JAMA, 2009; 301 (11): 1140-1147.

    News Reference

    [1] Use of religious coping associated with receiving intensive medical care near death eurekalert.org 17-Mar-2009.

    [2] Todd Neale Religion Linked to More Intensive End-of-Life Cancer Care medpagetoday.com March 17, 2009

    [3] Serena Gordon Most Devout Most Likely to Fight Death to the End March 17 (HealthDay News)

    [4] Spirituality Is Important To Eye Patients, Report Finds ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2008)