Religion is an important aspect of Tanzanian culture and is often used to cope with adversity and distress. of unfavorable religious coping. In univariate analysis unfavorable religious coping was associated with stigma depressive disorder and low interpersonal support. In multivariate analysis only depressive disorder remained significant explaining 42% of the variance in coping. Qualitative data confirmed reliance upon religion to deal with fistula-related distress and suggested that unfavorable forms of religious coping may be an expression of depressive symptoms. Results suggest that unfavorable religious coping could reflect cognitive distortions and unfavorable emotionality characteristic of depressive disorder. Religious leaders should be engaged to recognise signs of depressive disorder and provide appropriate pastoral/spiritual counseling and general psychosocial support for this populace. Keywords: obstetric fistula Tanzania religion gender maternal health Introduction Religious coping refers to religion-based strategies that individuals use to respond to stressful or otherwise challenging situations experiences or emotions. These coping strategies are classified into five key areas: finding meaning in adverse circumstances; seeking control over one’s experiences; finding comfort; fostering intimacy and closeness with others; and making transformations in one’s life (Pargament Koenig & Perez 2000 Research in the United States has exhibited that reliance on religion and spirituality is an effective strategy for individuals to deal with illness or disability including cancer (Tarakeshwar et al. 2006 Vallurupalli et al. 2012 gynaecological disorders (Boscaglia Clarke Jobling & Quinn 2005 and HIV contamination (Ironson et al. 2002 Ironson Stuetzle & Fletcher 2006 and that religiosity is associated with improvements in aspects of individuals’ overall quality of life and physical health (Powell Shahabi & Thoresen 2003 Seeman Dubin & Seeman 2003 At the same time the application of religious coping strategies may also include the use of unfavorable coping strategies such as reappraising stressors as punishments from God and questioning whether one has been forgotten by God (Pargament Smith Koenig & Perez 1998 Meta-analysis confirms that these unfavorable forms of religious coping are associated with unfavorable psychological adjustment to stress including increased stress and depressive disorder (Ano & Vasconcelles 2005 In Tanzania religion is an important aspect of culture and life and studies suggest that Tanzanians rely on religion to cope with adverse medical events (Steglitz Ng Mosha & Kershaw CCT128930 2012 Watt Maman Jacobson Laiser & John 2009 Zou et al. 2009 The small body of research on religious coping in Tanzania focuses almost exclusively on coping with HIV contamination and focuses primarily on positive religious coping strategies. However there is some suggestion that individuals living with a stigmatised medical condition CCT128930 like HIV in this setting may also adopt unfavorable coping Rabbit polyclonal to PNLIPRP2. strategies in response to their condition. In particular a stigmatised medical condition may evoke religious or spiritual struggles such as feelings of punishment or abandonment by God which may lead to a sense of disconnectedness from both the larger community and from one’s own identity CCT128930 and eventual destiny (Roura et al. 2010 Watt et al. 2009 Although the religious coping literature in Tanzania has focused on HIV contamination there is a need for further study of unfavorable religious coping styles as they relate to CCT128930 other stigmatised medical conditions in Tanzania particularly medical conditions where there may be less community knowledge and awareness than HIV. Obstetric fistula is usually one such medical condition that has a profound effect on a woman’s interpersonal psychological and physical functioning and may therefore evoke unfavorable religious coping responses. Women develop obstetric fistula after many days of prolonged labour where the pressure of the baby’s head against the mother?痵 pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues. The resulting pressure necrosis leaves a hole between the bladder or rectum and the vagina which causes uncontrollable leaking of urine and/or feces from the vagina and a persistent bad odour. Obstetric fistula is nearly non-existent in well-resourced countries where Cesarean sections are widely available (Wong et al. 2012 However in Tanzania it is estimated that approximately 46 0 women are living with the condition (National Bureau of Statistics of Tanzania & ICF Macro 2011 The physical and emotional trauma.