Exploring Religious Involvement in Cancer Care: A New Tool for Portuguese Patients

Helga Martins1 & Silvia Caldeira2

1Helga Martins

Pos-doctoral Fellow at Integral Human Development Program, PhD, RN, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Doctoral School (CADOS). Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Lisbon, Portugal.

Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Escola Superior de Saúde. R. Dr. José Correia Maltez, 7800-111 Beja, Portugal.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5804-7934

E-mail: hemartins@ucp.pt

2Sílvia Caldeira

PhD, MSc, RN, Associate Professor, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Lisbon, Portugal.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9804-2297

E-mail: scaldeira@ucp.pt

Exploring Religious Involvement in Cancer Care: A New Tool for Portuguese Patients

Incorporating religious involvement in cancer care through a newly validated tool for Portuguese patients can enhance both an integral approach to patient care and overall healthcare outcomes

Therefore, we invite you to read the latest findings of this research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31619110/

Martins, H., Caldeira, S., Dias Domingues, T., Vieira, M., & Koenig, H. G. (2020). Validation of the Belief into Action Scale (BIAC) in Portuguese Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy. Journal of Holistic Nursing: official journal of the American Holistic Nurses’ Association, 38(2), 193–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010119879531

Background: A large proportion of the world’s population have religious beliefs, with 84.0% indicating an affiliation with a specific religious group. Few comprehensive measures to assess religious involvement currently exist in Portugal, particularly for the assessment of religiosity in cancer patients.

Objective: To translate, adapt, and validate the 10-item Belief into Action Scale (BIAC) in Portuguese cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Method: The methodological guidelines provided by Sousa and Rojjanasrirat were used to examine the psychometric properties of the BIAC.

Results: The linguistic and conceptual equivalence of the scale was determined. The internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = .86). Varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization identified two factors made up of nine items.

Conclusion: The European Portuguese version of the BIAC is a reliable and valid measure for assessing religiosity in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy to provide holistic care.

---

---