Prayer Therapy for Improving Comfort Among Patients with Breast Cancer

Abstract

A diagnosis of breast cancer is a highly distressing experience for women and is frequently accompanied by physical, psychosocial, and spiritual challenges that may compromise quality of life. Increased spiritual needs often emerge during the disease trajectory, leading many patients to seek comfort through spiritual practices, particularly prayer. This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of prayer therapy in improving comfort among patients with breast cancer. The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Literature searches were performed in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library for studies published between 2010 and 2020 using the PICO framework. Six studies met the inclusion criteria, including three randomized controlled trials, two qualitative studies, and one cross-sectional study. The findings consistently demonstrated that prayer therapy, as part of spiritual care interventions, was associated with improved spiritual and emotional well-being, reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms, enhanced quality of life, and increased patient comfort. In conclusion, prayer therapy represents an effective, feasible, and holistic nursing intervention that can enhance comfort among patients with breast cancer and strengthen the delivery of holistic nursing care. Keywords: prayer therapy; spirituality; breast cancer