ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2015
Personal prayer in patients dealing with chronic illness: a review of the research literature.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Effect of Praying on Endogenous Pain Modulation and Pain Intensity in Healthy Religious Individuals in Lebanon: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of religion and health · 2023Trial
- Preoperative Prayer and Postoperative Recovery Quality Among Patients Undergoing Thyroidectomy in South Korea.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Spirituality issues in cancer patients at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- The Confluence Between Spiritual and Mental Health: A Phenomenological Approach to the Study of Healthcare Professionals' Experiences.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Prayers for Sickness: What do people pray for and how do they deal with unanswered prayer?F1000Research · 2024Review
- Experiences of Muslim patients living with peritoneal dialysis: A qualitative study in Southern Thailand.Belitung nursing journal · 2024Article
- Meditation and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis Using Data From the Health and Retirement Study 2000-2016.Mindfulness · 2023Article
- "More Spiritual Health Professionals Provide Different Care": A Qualitative Study in the Field of Mental Health.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Typologies and Meanings of Prayer Among Patients.Journal of religion and health · 2022Article
- Experiences and Perceived Effects of Rosary Praying: A Qualitative Study.Journal of religion and health · 2021Article
- Spirituality in a Doctor's Practice: What Are the Issues?Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Factors associated with the use of complementary therapies in Taiwanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a cross-sectional study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2021Article
- Tumor Patients´ Perceived Changes of Specific Attitudes, Perceptions, and Behaviors Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Relation to Reduced Wellbeing.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
- Religious practices and changes in health-related quality of life after hospital discharge for an acute coronary syndrome.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2019Article
- Spirituality and Prayer on Teacher Stress and Burnout in an Italian Cohort: A Pilot, Before-After Controlled Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Article
- Complimentary Care: When Our Patients Request to Pray.Journal of religion and health · 2018Article
- Spiritual aspects of care for chronic Muslim patients: A qualitative study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2018Article
- The Effect of Two Methods of Relaxation and Prayer Therapy on Anxiety and Hope in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background. Prayer is commonly used among patients for health purposes. Therefore, this review focused on three main questions: (1) why do people turn to prayer in times of illness?, (2) what are the main topics of their prayers?, and (3) how do they pray? Method. We undertook a systematic review of the literature by searching the databases PubMed, Medline, and PsycINFO. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) participants in the study were patients dealing with an illness, (2) the study examined the use of private rather than intercessory prayer, and (3) the content and purpose of prayer rather than its effects were investigated. Results. 16 articles were included in the final review. Participants suffered from a variety of chronic diseases, mostly cancer. Five main categories for the reasons and topics of prayer were found: (1) disease-centered prayer, (2) assurance-centered prayer, (3) God-centered prayer, (4) others-centered prayer, and (5) lamentations. Among these, disease-centered prayer was most common. Conclusions. Although most patients with chronic diseases do pray for relief from their physical and mental suffering, the intention of their prayers is not only for healing. Rather, prayer can be a resource that allows patients to positively transform the experience of their illness.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.