Religious and Spiritual Practices as Complementary Support for Biomedical Care Among Christian and Muslim Filipino...

Religion and spirituality may shape how patients interpret illness and engage with treatment, yet limited comparative research has examined these processes among Christian and Muslim Filipino adults. This qualitative study explored how religious and spiritual practices supported participants receiving biomedical care. Sixty adults aged 35 years and older, comprising 30 Christians and 30 Muslims from Rizal Province, Philippines, participated from January to May 2026. Data were gathered through 45 face-to-face semi-structured interviews and 15 written qualitative responses submitted through Google Forms. Data were analyzed using comparative reflexive thematic analysis guided by Religious Coping Theory. Findings showed that participants incorporated prayer, sacred texts, communal worship, and religious support into medication routines, consultations, counseling, chemotherapy, dialysis, rehabilitation, and chronic disease management. Spiritual practices provided emotional stability, meaning, patience, social connection, and motivation to continue treatment. Families, faith communities, spiritual leaders, and respectful healthcare professionals strengthened this relationship through practical assistance, religious guidance, and supportive communication. Christian and Muslim practices differed in theological meaning and ritual expression but demonstrated overlapping coping functions, indicating functional convergence without religious interchangeability. Participants distinguished spiritual support from clinical treatment. Persistent symptoms, delayed improvement, and expectations of immediate healing occasionally produced disappointment or spiritual struggle, leading participants to recalibrate healing as endurance and acceptance rather than guaranteed cure. The findings suggest that spirituality can complement biomedical care, although the study does not establish that religious practices caused clinical improvement or accelerated recovery. Person-centered healthcare should recognize patients' spiritual resources while preserving evidence-based treatment, autonomy, and religious diversity.