Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)

November 2, 2007 updated by: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Intercessory prayer is widely believed to influence recovery from illness, but claims of benefits are not supported by well-controlled clinical trials. Prior studies have not addressed whether prayer itself or knowledge/certainty that prayer is being provided may influence outcome. We evaluated whether (1) receiving intercessory prayer or (2) being certain of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with uncomplicated recovery after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Intercessory prayer is widely believed to influence recovery from illness, but claims of benefits are not supported by well-controlled clinical trials. Prior studies have not addressed whether prayer itself or knowledge/certainty that prayer is being provided may influence outcome. We evaluated whether (1) receiving intercessory prayer or (2) being certain of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with uncomplicated recovery after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

1802

Phase

  • Phase 3

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Able to read or understand English

Exclusion criteria:

  • Scheduled for emergent CABG (next available operating room slot)
  • CABG more than 14 days after enrollment
  • Other planned surgery within 30 days of CABG
  • Minimally invasive CABG (non full sternotomy incisions)
  • CABG with planned valve replacement, stent, angioplasty or carotid endarterectomy
  • Or had ongoing chest pain or unstable angina, as defined by their physicians

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Group 1
604 patients received intercessory prayer after being informed they may or may not receive prayers (Group 1)
Behavioral: Intercessory Prayer
14 days of intercessory prayer from 3 sites
No Intervention: 2
597 patients did not receive prayer after being informed they may or may not receive prayer (Group 2)
Experimental: Group 3
601 patients received intercessory prayer after being informed they would receive it (Group 3).
Behavioral: Intercessory Prayer
14 days of intercessory prayer from 3 sites

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Whether receiving intercessory prayer was associated with uncomplicated recovery after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Time Frame: 30 days
30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Whether being certain of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with uncomplicated recovery after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Time Frame: 30 days
30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Collaborators

Mayo Clinic
Medstar Health Research Institute
John Templeton Foundation
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center
Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Herbert Benson, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Mind/Body Medical Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 1998

Primary Completion

December 7, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2001

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 13, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 13, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 16, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 2007

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2007

Last Verified

November 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2001-P-002125

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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