Intercessory prayer in psychological well-being: using a multiple-baseline, across-subjects design

The Effect of Combination Prayer Therapy and Education on Pre-operative Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Anxiety

Background: Anxiety is a problem that most often occurs in the pre-operative coronary artery bypass graft surgery stage. The combination of prayer therapy with education is expected to be able to overcome anxiety. The combination of prayer and education therapy have been researched as a potential holistic intervention for reducing anxiety in coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Purpose: This study compares the effect of combination therapy with the golden standard of therapy in hospitals. Methods: A true-experimental design was used. Fifty participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Data were collected using a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire from Spielberger. Findings: Most respondents were elderly, male, high school graduates in the treatment group, and bachelor graduates in the control group. Prayer therapy and education have an effect of 63.8% on reducing anxiety. An increase of 1 constant in the provision of prayer therapy and education can reduce anxiety by 0.772. Conclusions: The combination of prayer therapy and education becomes the holistic nursing modality that can reduce anxiety in pre-operative coronary artery bypass graft patients.

Are religious patients less afraid of surgery? A cross-sectional study on the relationship between dimensions of religiousness and surgical fear

INTRODUCTION

Surgical fear is common and has a negative impact on surgery and its outcome. Recent research has identified individual religiousness as an important factor among patients with associations to mental health, particularly anxiety.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine associations between religiousness and surgical fear in a representative sample of adult surgical patients in Croatia.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study among elective surgery patients at different departments of a single hospital.

SETTING

University Hospital Sveti Duh, a tertiary health care facility in Croatia.

MEASUREMENTS

Religiousness and surgical fear were the variables of interest and assessed through self-report instruments. The Croatian version of the Duke Religiosity Index questionnaire (DUREL) assessed organizational religious activity (ORA), non-organizational religious activity (NORA), and intrinsic religiousness (IR). The Croatian version of the Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) measured surgical fear and its subscales the fear of the short-term and long-term consequences of surgery. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics and medical history were assessed. Analyses were carried out using descriptive and linear regression analyses.

RESULTS

178 subjects were included for data analysis. Univariate linear regression found two dimensions of religiousness (non-organizational religious activity, intrinsic religiousness) to be weak, but significant predictors of greater surgical fear (adj. R2 = 0.02 and 0.03 respectively). In the multiple linear regression model together with age, gender, education and type of surgery, all three dimensions of religiousness were found to be significant independent predictors of greater surgical fear.

LIMITATIONS

The study was single-center and cross-sectional and did not assess patients' specific religious identity.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated significant positive associations between dimensions of religiousness and surgical fear, potentially suggesting that surgical patients experience increased religiousness to cope with heightened anxiety. Assessment and intervention to address patient religiousness is warranted in the context of surgical fear among religious patients, and the importance of religiousness in the context of surgical fear needs to be further addressed in research.

Therapeutic Effects of Islamic Intercessory Prayer on Warts

The present study aimed to examine the therapeutic effects of Islamic intercessory prayer on warts. Forty-five participants who are mostly Muslims and infected with warts were randomized into three groups: Group-1 (uncertain, with intercessory prayer), Group-2 (uncertain, no intercessory prayer), and control group (informed, no intervention). Stress symptoms were also measured before and after prayer sessions for these three groups. The results revealed that there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of healing. Although participants believed in the therapeutic effects of prayer, when participants did not trust the intercessor, prayer had no effect on warts.

Does religious activity improve health outcomes? A critical review of the recent literature

OBJECTIVE

Many Americans use religious activity to cope with stressful life events. Our goal was to review systematically the recent medical literature to assess the role of religion in health outcomes.

DATA SOURCES

We conducted a comprehensive literature search using MEDLINE to identify studies published in the English language between January 1999 and June 2003 describing the effect of religion on health outcomes. The search strategy used the medical subject headings (MeSH) of religion; religion AND medicine; religion OR intercessory prayer; prayer; prayer therapy; religious rites; faith; medicine, traditional; religiosity; religion AND psychology; and religion AND health.

STUDY SELECTION

Religious, but not spiritual, interventions were selected for inclusion. Thus, papers describing interventions such as yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and qigong were excluded. Manuscripts describing randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and partnerships with faith-based organizations were included.

DATA EXTRACTION

We found five randomized controlled trials, four clinical trials, and seven faith-based partnerships that describe the impact of religious intervention on health outcomes. Papers were analyzed by four reviewers using a modified Delphi technique to reach consensus.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Religious intervention such as intercessory prayer may improve success rates of in vitro fertilization, decrease length of hospital stay and duration of fever in septic patients, increase immune function, improve rheumatoid arthritis, and reduce anxiety. Frequent attendance at religious services likely improves health behaviors. Moreover, prayer may decrease adverse outcomes in patients with cardiac disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Religious activity may improve health outcomes.

Are there demonstrable effects of distant intercessory prayer? A meta-analytic review

BACKGROUND

The use of alternative treatments for illness is common in the United States. Practitioners of these interventions find them compatible with personal philosophies. Consequently, distant intercessory prayer (IP) for healing is one of the most commonly practiced alternative interventions and has recently become the topic of scientific scrutiny.

PURPOSE

This study was designed to provide a current meta-analytic review of the effects of IP and to assess the impact of potential moderator variables.

METHODS

A random effects model was adopted. Outcomes across dependent measures within each study were pooled to arrive at one omnibus effect size. These were combined to generate the overall effect size. A test of homogeneity and examination of several potential moderator variables was conducted.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies were included in the meta-analysis yielding an overall effect size of g = .100 that did not differ from zero. When one controversial study was removed, the effect size reduced to g = .012. No moderator variables significantly influenced results.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no scientifically discernable effect for IP as assessed in controlled studies. Given that the IP literature lacks a theoretical or theological base and has failed to produce significant findings in controlled trials, we recommend that further resources not be allocated to this line of research.