| dc.description.abstract | Health beliefs are recognized as being important in predicting disease-related variables.
Among health beliefs, explanatory models are observed to be strongly held beliefs. The
personal etiological framework of an individual regarding his or her health condition is referred
to as an explanatory model. In Asian countries, it has been observed that individuals have two
parallel sets of explanatory models. One is based on the Western medical model, and another
is based on cultural and religious beliefs. The current cross-sectional study expects to
understand the religion and culture-based explanatory models among Sri Lankans. The
study’s first phase was conducted with 142 adults in Sri Lanka as an online survey. Multiple
regression analysis was conducted to gauge the relationship between selected demographic
variables and religious-cultural beliefs related to cancer. A short questionnaire was developed
to record the religious-cultural beliefs related to cancer, following five mini-interviews. This was
pre-tested before being used in the study. 50 cancer patients participated in the second phase,
where their commonly held religion and culture-related explanatory models and their levels of
well-being were correlated to understand if they had a significant impact on their well-being.
An adapted version of the PERMA profiler was used to measure well-being. No statistically
significant relationships were observed between the religious-cultural explanatory models of
cancer and the disease-related variables. Thus, the prominent religious and cultural
explanatory models of cancer can be seen as part of personal core beliefs in people, which
are not normally affected or necessarily changed significantly via education, gender, or other
disease-related circumstances. Further, beliefs related to karma appear to have a significant
impact on well-being. Thus, karma and other religion- and culture-based explanatory models
should be acknowledged in providing holistic care for cancer patients. | en_US |
