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Belief in God’s Help During Hepatitis C: A Qualitative Study on Muslim Patients in Pakistan

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Abstract

Religious/spiritual beliefs play an important role in nursing of patients during chronic condition. Religion comprises an institutionalized set of transcendent ideas, while spirituality is personal and subjective dimension of religious experience in search of sacred (Hill and Pargament in Psychol Relig Spiritual S(1):3–17, 2008). The prevailing literature describes the influential impact of religiosity/spirituality on coping with chronic disease, but specifically patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) have not been studied in Pakistani context. This study examined the patients’ belief in religious/spiritual coping, role of religious/spiritual beliefs and prayer as coping strategy. Furthermore, it explored the importance of religious/spiritual beliefs in diverting attention from pain and other needs of CLD patient. A total of 20 patients with chronic liver disease were selected through an appropriate screening process. Subsequently, in-depth detailed interviews were conducted to gather experiences of the hepatitis patients. Religious/spiritual beliefs put forth multiple positive effects that help in coping with chronic hepatitis C. It has been found that patients of hepatitis C use prayer as a coping strategy. Religious/spiritual beliefs have been found as source of diverting attention from pain for the patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C.

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Notes

  1. Liver Centre Faisalabad was the site from where all the patients were recruited for the current study.

  2. They added, sensitive nature of this study makes respondents vulnerable to psycho-emotional pain. To fulfill this prerequisite, a psychotherapist was selected to voluntarily participate in counseling of patients suffering with CLD. An informal meeting was held between psychotherapist and research ethics team on terms and conditions of potential counseling. During each in-depth detailed interview, psychotherapist was along with interviewer.

  3. Shrines are the tombs of religious/spiritual Muslim Sufis and mystics who hold significant place in Islam. Majority of Muslim factions have respect for these Sufis. People across the country visit these shrines to pay opulent tributes on birth/death ceremonies of these Sufis. People claim that they visit these shrines in search of self, peace, ultimate reality and spiritual salvation. Many visit to pray for health, baby boy or wealth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

    Malik Muhammad Sohail

  2. Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Tozzer Anthropology Building, 21 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Malik Muhammad Sohail

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the involved institutions, i.e., Board of Studies, Advanced Studies Research Board and departmental research ethical committee (University of Sargodha) and Hospital research ethics committee (LCF).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (and caregivers) included in the study.

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Sohail, M.M. Belief in God’s Help During Hepatitis C: A Qualitative Study on Muslim Patients in Pakistan. J Relig Health 59, 928–945 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0700-5

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