Intercessory Prayer for ill Health: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Complementary and alternative medicine
• Evidence-based practice

Background:

• Intercessory prayer is a practice where individuals pray for others.
• Its role as an adjunct to standard medical care remains a subject of interest.
• Existing research on prayer's efficacy in health outcomes is limited and varied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the effectiveness of intercessory prayer as a supplementary intervention for patients.
• To assess prayer's impact on various health outcomes in individuals undergoing conventional medical treatment.
• To synthesize findings from randomized and quasi-randomized trials.

Main Methods:

• Conducted comprehensive electronic searches across multiple databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane, etc.).
• Included randomized and quasi-randomized trials of intercessory prayer for individuals with health problems.
• Assessed methodological quality and extracted data independently by multiple reviewers.

Main Results:

• No significant effect of prayer on mortality from leukemia or heart disease was observed.
• Prayer did not demonstrably decrease coronary care complications or hospital length of stay.
• A statistically significant reduction in intermediate/poor outcomes was noted for heart disease patients who were prayed for.

Conclusions:

• The current evidence does not support or refute the effectiveness of intercessory prayer for the studied outcomes.
• Findings suggest no immediate need to alter current medical practices based on this review.
• Further rigorous trials are justified to explore the potential benefits and mechanisms of intercessory prayer.