Religiousness/spirituality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: Cultural integration for health research and intervention.

Abstract

Recently, behavioral scientists have developed greater interest in understanding the relations between religiousness and spirituality (R/S) and health. Our objectives were to (a) provide an overview of the R/S and health literature specific to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer, (b) discuss the importance of religious culture considerations to behavioral medicine research, (c) suggest methodological changes to advance this research toward greater depth of understanding, and (d) begin discussion on clinically appropriate ways to integrate R/S into treatment.