The Relationship between Spiritual Intervention and Physical Exercise on Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Quality of life in cancer survivors is a primary concern in holistic health interventions. Recent research suggests that an integrative approach—combining spiritual interventions and physical activity—has the potential to significantly impact the physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being of cancer survivors. However, there is still a gap in the exploration of local culture-based interventions, such as qosidah therapy and dhikr, in the global scientific literature. This study aims to map global trends, key themes, and research gaps in the field of spiritual and physical interventions on the quality of life of cancer survivors using a bibliometric approach, to support the development of more contextual and integrative therapy models. This study uses a quantitative descriptive design with a bibliometric approach. Data were obtained from 650 scientific publications indexed in the Scopus database during the period 2015–2024, using a combination of keywords such as spiritual intervention, mind-body therapy, physical activity, cancer survivors, and quality of life. Data analysis was performed using VOSviewer v1.6.20 software, to visualize the collaboration network of authors, institutions, countries, and keyword co-occurrence maps. The results show a sharply increasing publication trend, peaking in 2024. Research is dominated by institutions from the United States such as Harvard Medical School and the NIH. The main themes that emerged included controlled trials, mind-body therapy, complementary medicine, and psychology. Popular interventions studied include yoga, tai chi, and mindfulness. However, local culture-based approaches such as qosidah, dhikr, or religious music have not received much attention in international literature. This analysis reveals that spiritual and physical activity interventions for cancer survivors tend to emphasize Westernbased medical and psychological approaches. There is a need to develop more contextual and culturally based integrative research, especially in developing countries. The results of this study provide an important basis for the development of an Integrative Model of Qosidah Therapy and Physical Activity that is spiritually, psychosocially, and culturally relevant to improve the quality of life of cancer survivors in Indonesia and regions with similar characteristics.