Religious coping involves turning to faith, prayer, or spiritual beliefs to handle stress and challenges, like recovering from surgery. Many people use it to find comfort and strength during tough times after an operation.
Studies show mixed results on how it affects surgery recovery. For example, one study on patients with long-term hemodialysis, which often follows surgery complications, found that spiritual practices improved psychological well-being and coping skills. Patients who leaned on their faith felt better mentally, which helped them stick to treatments. You can read more in this research from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12703117/.
In contrast, research on spiritual well-being right after surgery showed it did not strongly reduce pain, nausea, or vomiting in the early days. This suggests faith alone might not ease physical symptoms during acute recovery, and more studies are needed. Details are available here: https://actamedicaruha.com/index.php/pub/article/view/187.
Religious coping also helps healthcare workers, like nurses, who deal with surgery patients daily. A study of 400 nurses found that using faith-based strategies improved their quality of life and reduced stress on the job. This could indirectly benefit patient recovery by supporting a calmer medical team. Check the full findings at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10436596251395002.
Spiritual care extends to hospital staff to prevent burnout, allowing them to better support patients through recovery. One report highlights how it aids daily coping for teams handling surgeries. See it here: https://www.okstatemedicalproceedings.com/index.php/OSMP/article/view/274/657.
Other work looked at recovery after brain surgery from aneurysms but did not directly link religious coping to outcomes one year later. More details: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12735916/.
Overall, religious coping often boosts emotional resilience during surgery recovery, though its impact on physical symptoms varies.
Sources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12703117/
https://actamedicaruha.com/index.php/pub/article/view/187
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10436596251395002
https://www.okstatemedicalproceedings.com/index.php/OSMP/article/view/274/657
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12735916/
