Spiritual Growth Aspects among Caregivers of Children with Cancer

Abstract

Spirituality is one of the essential aspects of one’s life. It offers a broader perspective towards a meaningful life while undergoing trials such as caring for children with cancers. Cancer caregivers commonly experience physical, emotional, social, and spiritual challenges. Spiritual issues such as lost hope and associating negative meanings with cancer prognosis may reduce the caregiver’s quality of life. However, this caregiving burden can be a great source of post-traumatic growth. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore spiritual change, a significant domain in post-traumatic growth among 24 caregivers of children with cancer at one of the teaching hospitals in Kuala Lumpur. Following in-depth interviews, the result of the thematic analysis demonstrated two themes; main religious and mindfulness practices, a significant caregiver’s spiritual development. The majority of caregivers reported increasing spiritual awareness levels, feeling closer to God, and focused on religious practices as caregivers coping mechanisms and patients’ complementary therapy. Hence, spiritual concerns among families of children with cancer need to be addressed during cancer treatment. This study suggests the development of an appropriate quick reference on spiritual aspects for caregivers which would be useful during the cancer trajectory and improve the whole family’s quality of life.

Experiences of caregivers of children with cancer in Malawi: A qualitative study

“…These religious beliefs help caregivers achieve peace and endure hardships and critical disease‐related situations. Literature reports that the absolute trust in God Almighty through religious practices buffers the emotional distress, 44 enhances the acceptance of the child's condition and plays a role in coping with the child's illness. 43 , 45 In our study, the caregivers relied on their religious affiliations, and even though the religious chaplains were available, their operations seemed irregular and unclear.…”

Spiritual Coping Among Families of Children With Cancer: A Qualitative Study

“…A recent study has found that prayer and recitation (du‘ā’ and dhikr) is the most common religious practice among Muslim Malaysians. 19 The dhikr acts as a reminder that God is present to protect and support His believers, resulting in a calm state of mind and heart. 20 It is no wonder caregivers in this study expressed that prayer had instilled them with a sense of hope, especially when an event is perceived as being beyond mortal control and understanding, such as their child’s illness-related suffering.…”