Prayer for Health Concerns

McCaffrey, Anne M.; Eisenberg, David M.; Legedza, Anna; Davis, Roger B.; Phillips, Russell S.

doi:10.1001/archinte.164.8.858

Cited by 145 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…More generally, our findings on the use of prayer are similar to other demographic analyses on church attendance from other studies (Newport, 2010), which also suggests that those groups who engage in prayer, are also more likely to be involved in organized religion of some type, rather than being only spiritual outside of organized religious group support. Nationally, studies indicate that suggest women attended church more than men, married respondents attended church more than those who were not married (including single, divorced, separated, or widowed), and that increasing age and level of education are positively related to church attendance (McCaffrey, Eisenberg, Legedza, Davis, & Phillips, 2004; Taylor, 1988). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Depression: Changes from 2002 to 2007

Wachholtz

Sambamthoori

2012

J Relig Health

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Objective To analyze national trends in the use of prayer among individuals with depression. Method We adopted a cross-sectional design with data from the adult Alternative Medicine supplement of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2002 and 2007. Prayer use and depression were combined into 4 categories: prayed in the past 12 months and depressed; 2) prayed in the past 12 months and not depressed; 3) never prayed but depressed; and 4) never prayed and not depressed. Chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regressions were performed to analyze group differences. All analyses adjusted for the complex sample design and were conducted in SAS-callable SUDAAN. Results Use of prayer for depression was steady at 6.9% across time, however general prayer increased significantly between 2002 and 2007 (40.2 vs. 45.7). Women, aged 50-64, not-married, with a high school education were more likely to use prayer while depressed compared to those who were neither depressed nor prayed. Lifestyle behaviors (ex. alcohol, smoking, exercise) were also associated with prayer use and depression. Discussion Prayer use for depression remained steady with unique relationships occurring among those who smoke, use alcohol, and have irregular exercise. Individuals’ use of prayer as a potential complementary treatment for depression suggests that it is critical for mental and physical health treatment providers to be aware of the use of prayer as a coping resource.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Depression: Changes from 2002 to 2007

Wachholtz

Sambamthoori

2012

J Relig Health

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“…Basically, all SaH interventions fit the conventional definition of CAM [9,35]. The best quantitative studies of CAM utilization show strong associations between CAM use and use of prayer [27,36]. Studies of why patients use CAM indicate that a spiritual point of view is among the strongest reasons and that CAM use is associated with the use of prayer [37,38].…”

Section: To Be or Not To Be Cam?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the USA over the Last 20 Years

et al. 2013

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Medical practices that reside outside the mainstream medical structures have existed for centuries, often waxing and waning in prominence and use for various reasons. Recently, there has been a resurgence in interest and use of such practices in the USA generally referred to under the label of ‘complementary and alternative medicine' (CAM). In this article we summarize some of the highlight events that punctuated this resurgence over the last 20 years. As in the past, social forces affecting these trends circulate around power, resources, and scope of practice. However, a prominent feature of this dynamic is a discussion about the role of science and ‘evidence-based medicine' in addressing pluralistic healthcare-related practices. In the early years of this period, attempts to formulate the place of CAM practices as they relate to epistemology, nonconventional assumptions about health and healing, and the complexity of understanding ‘whole systems' were discussed and often examined. Less attention is being paid to those core assumptions in more recent times. The focus now seems to be on how CAM practices can be judiciously and effectively ‘integrated' into mainstream medicine. Examples of how this dynamic is evolving are described.

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“…Prayer has been shown to measure the broader dimension of 'religiosity' for different religious groups and across European countries as well as, for example, church attendance does (Wolf 2005: 288f.). Moreover, prayer has often been reported to be the most common form of religious practice (e.g., Krause 2004) and in U.S. national samples at least one third of the adult respondents reported to use prayer for health concerns (e.g., Bearon and Koenig 1990;Bell et al 2005;McCaffrey et al 2004). Studies suggest that prayer or other private religious activities may be associated with better health outcomes and prolonged survival (e.g., Helm et al 2000;Meisenhelder and Chandler 2001).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-National Variations in the Correlation Between Frequency of Prayer and Health Among Older Europeans

Hank

Schaan

2008

Res Aging

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Prayer for Health Concerns

Abstract: An estimated one third of adults used prayer for health concerns in 1998. Most respondents did not discuss prayer with their physicians. Prayer was used frequently for common medical conditions, and users reported high levels of perceived helpfulness.

Cited by 145 publications

References 28 publications

National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Depression: Changes from 2002 to 2007

National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Depression: Changes from 2002 to 2007

The Evolution of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the USA over the Last 20 Years

Cross-National Variations in the Correlation Between Frequency of Prayer and Health Among Older Europeans

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