Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review

Introduction Several studies explored a relationship between religiousness and the utilisation of cancer screenings, as religious people may obtain an increased social network or could have certain personality traits that enhance screening use. To the best of our knowledge, there is no systematic re...

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Main Authors: Hans-Helmut König, André Hajek, Benedikt Kretzler, Linéa Brandt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e046126.full
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author Hans-Helmut König
André Hajek
Benedikt Kretzler
Linéa Brandt
author_facet Hans-Helmut König
André Hajek
Benedikt Kretzler
Linéa Brandt
author_sort Hans-Helmut König
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Several studies explored a relationship between religiousness and the utilisation of cancer screenings, as religious people may obtain an increased social network or could have certain personality traits that enhance screening use. To the best of our knowledge, there is no systematic review that sums up the evidence gained from research on that relationship. Thus, our review aims to appraise the findings of observational studies regarding that relationship. Its findings may be useful in addressing specific target groups to increase ineffectively the low cancer screening rates.Methods and analysis Employing a predefined search algorithm, three online databases (CINAHL, PsycInfo and PubMed) will be searched. In addition, the bibliographies of the studies included in our review will be searched through manually and independently by two reviewers. We are looking for observational studies (both cross-sectional and longitudinal) which examine the association between religion and cancer screening utilisation. However, studies regarding specific samples (as ethnic minorities or religious sects) will be excluded. We expect that the studies examine various dimensions of religion, such as religious attendance or religious intensity. We will extract data that describe methodology, sample characteristics and the findings concerning our object of investigation. Moreover, a quality assessment will be performed. Two reviewers will independently select the studies, extract the data and assess the studies’ quality. Disagreements will be dissolved by discussion or by inclusion of a third party. The findings will be presented narratively in text and tables. If possible, a meta-analysis will be carried out.Ethics and dissemination As no primary data are collected, the approval from an ethics committee is not required. Our review will be published in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021229222.
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spelling doaj-art-2552245586dc4fe5a69a69e477bd040b2025-08-20T02:21:47ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-12-01111210.1136/bmjopen-2020-046126Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic reviewHans-Helmut König0André Hajek1Benedikt Kretzler2Linéa Brandt3Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment for Health Economics and Health Services Research, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyIntroduction Several studies explored a relationship between religiousness and the utilisation of cancer screenings, as religious people may obtain an increased social network or could have certain personality traits that enhance screening use. To the best of our knowledge, there is no systematic review that sums up the evidence gained from research on that relationship. Thus, our review aims to appraise the findings of observational studies regarding that relationship. Its findings may be useful in addressing specific target groups to increase ineffectively the low cancer screening rates.Methods and analysis Employing a predefined search algorithm, three online databases (CINAHL, PsycInfo and PubMed) will be searched. In addition, the bibliographies of the studies included in our review will be searched through manually and independently by two reviewers. We are looking for observational studies (both cross-sectional and longitudinal) which examine the association between religion and cancer screening utilisation. However, studies regarding specific samples (as ethnic minorities or religious sects) will be excluded. We expect that the studies examine various dimensions of religion, such as religious attendance or religious intensity. We will extract data that describe methodology, sample characteristics and the findings concerning our object of investigation. Moreover, a quality assessment will be performed. Two reviewers will independently select the studies, extract the data and assess the studies’ quality. Disagreements will be dissolved by discussion or by inclusion of a third party. The findings will be presented narratively in text and tables. If possible, a meta-analysis will be carried out.Ethics and dissemination As no primary data are collected, the approval from an ethics committee is not required. Our review will be published in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021229222.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e046126.full
spellingShingle Hans-Helmut König
André Hajek
Benedikt Kretzler
Linéa Brandt
Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review
BMJ Open
title Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review
title_full Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review
title_fullStr Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review
title_short Religion and cancer prevention: study protocol for a systematic review
title_sort religion and cancer prevention study protocol for a systematic review
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e046126.full
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