The religiosity/spirituality of Latina breast cancer survivors and influence on health‐related quality of life

Abstract

Objective: The study evaluated the association of religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) among Latina breast cancer survivors (BCS) in order to determine whether R/S would be positively correlated with HRQOL and whether R/S would significantly influence HRQOL. Methods: The cross‐sectional study utilized self‐report data from 117 Latina BCS survivors. R/S was measured with the Systems of Belief Inventory‐15 Revised (SBI‐15R) and HRQOL was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐General (FACT‐G). Analyses included calculation of descriptive statistics, t‐tests, bivariate correlations, and multivariate analyses. Results: Latina BCS had very high levels of R/S and generally good HRQOL. The SBI‐15R total score was positively correlated with FACT‐G social well‐being (SWB) (r=0.266, p=0.005), relationship with doctor (RWD) (r=0.219, p=0.020), and functional well‐being (FWB) (r=0.216, p=0.022). Multivariate analyses revealed that SBI‐15R was a significant predictor of FACT‐G FWB (p=0.041) and satisfaction with the relationship with the doctor (p=0.050), where higher levels of R/S predicted higher levels of well‐being. Conclusions: Latina BCS had very high levels of R/S, which were significantly, positively correlated with dimensions of HRQOL (SWB, FWB, RWD). Furthermore, these high levels of R/S predicted better FWB and satisfaction with the patient–doctor relationship while controlling for potentially confounding variables. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.