Religion, support and self-care experiences: A qualitative descriptive study with Indonesian adults with the chronic disease living in Montreal, Canada

Aim: To explore and describe the chronic illness self-care experiences of Indonesian immigrants living in Montreal, Canada and to gain a better understanding of how religion and support shaped these experiences.

Design: Qualitative description.

Methods: Data were collected from January to March 2020 via semi-structured interviews. Eight men and women participated. The data were thematically analysed.

Results: Major themes identified were (1) religion, (2) being helpful to others, (3) family support, (4) transnational family support, (5) community support and (6) being in Indonesia versus Canada. Religion and faith were sources of motivation for self-care and provided guidance and strength to heal and accept the illness, mainly through the practice of prayer. 'Being helpful to others' (collectivism), including aiding others to avoid getting sick or giving 'health tips', and also just generally taking care of family also contributed to overall well-being. Spouses were the main source of assistance with disease monitoring and management and health maintenance, whereas support from the Indonesian community was minimal and mostly consisted of informational and social support. Transnational relationships with family members in Indonesia, however, provided an additional means for obtaining emotional support, advice and access to traditional medicines. Overall, there was little expectation that family or the community offer or provide support with self-care. These low expectations may partially be explained by the different cultural and social contexts in Canada compared with Indonesia.

Conclusion: Religious, cultural, social and family factors may be carried over from the home country and/or may be altered post-migration, and this may impact how Indonesian immigrants with chronic illness engage in self-care.

Impact: Cultural factors (collectivism, traditional medicines), religious beliefs and support networks, both locally and transnationally should be assessed and considered during care to better support and promote self-care among immigrants living with chronic diseases.

Patient or public contribution: Two Indonesian community organizations facilitated recruitment and data collection.