FEATURES The Effect of Spiritual Care on Adolescents Coping With Cancer ■ Faeze Torabi, MSc ■ Maryam Rassouli, PhD, RN ■ Manighea Nourian, PhD, RN ■ Nasrin Borumandnia, PhD ■ Azam Shirinabadi Farahani, PhD, RN ■ Fatemeh Nikseresht, MSc People’s experiences of living with cancer suggest that spirituality creates purpose and meaning in life for patients. Strengthening spirituality has positive effects on coping, mental health, and symptoms of the disease. This study examines the effect of spiritual care on adolescents coping with cancer. This research is a single-group, quasi-experimental, pre-/poststudy conducted on 32 adolescents. The spiritual care program was presented individually and face to face over six 45-minute sessions held on the admission days. Data were collected using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire by Lazarus and Folkman. A significant difference was observed between the pretest and posttest mean values in all the coping subscales, which suggests the effect of spiritual care on adolescents’ coping with cancer, but no significant differences were observed between the posttest and follow-up mean values, which shows the importance of the continuity of spiritual care in adolescent patients. According to the results, spirituality-based care programs offered by nurses can positively affect adolescents’ coping with cancer and improve their overall coping. KEY WORDS: adolescents with cancer, coping, spiritual care Holist Nurs Pract 2018;32(3):149–159 INTRODUCTION As one of the most common chronic noncommunicable diseases, cancer is responsible for 9% of deaths in the world. In Iran, cancer is the third leading cause of death after cardiac diseases and road accidents. 1,2 Author Affiliations: Imam Hossein Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran (Ms Torabi); and Nursing and Midwifery School (Dr Rassouli), Department of Pediatric and NICU Nursing (Drs Nourian and Farahani), Biostatistics (Dr Borumandnia), and Shohada-e Tajrish Hospital (Ms Nikseresht), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. This study was funded by the Research Council of Shahid Beheshti Uni- versity of Medical Sciences is part of an MSc thesis in pediatric nursing approved by this council. The project was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials under the code IRCT2014041317250N1. Hereby, the researchers would like to express their gratitude to the partic- ipants as well as to Dr Julie Visit Stiller (Associate Professor, Simmons School of Nursing in Boston), Dr Farah Lotfi-Kashani, and Dr Mehdi Fani for their help in the design of the intervention program. The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article. Correspondence: Maryam Rassouli, PhD, RN, Nursing and Midwifery School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Rassouli.m@gmail.com). DOI: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000263 This disease accounts for 4% of all deaths in children younger than 5 years and 13% of deaths in children aged 5 to 15 years in Iran. 3 Diagnosis with a malignant and life-threatening disease such as cancer is a worrying experience that changes people’s perception of life and requires serious coping in them. 4 Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood that transforms the child’s world into a world of adults 5 and thus comprises a major psychosocial development stage. 6 Chronic and life-threatening diseases in this age group can cause various adverse consequences. 7 Adolescents with chronic diseases such as cancer are faced with many psychosocial problems 8,9 that affect their quality of life. Adolescence is considered a period for establishing healthy relationships, acquiring social skills, recognizing healthy and effective lifestyles, and learning how to enjoy life. 6 The diagnosis of cancer in adolescence and its subsequent treatment procedures require the adolescents and their parents to learn how to cope with the many stressful aspects of this disease. 10 To come to terms with the problems caused by this disease, adolescents need to use various coping strategies such as spirituality. 11 Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. 149