Medical Effects of Proximal (In-person) Intercessory (PIP) and Virtual Intercessory Prayer (VIP) on Pain and Anxiety
27. april 2026 opdateret af: University of Maryland, Baltimore
This study examines whether proximal (in-person) intercessory prayer (PIP) and virtual intercessory prayer (VIP) can reduce pain and anxiety in adults seeking care at a family medicine clinic.
Participants who report moderate or higher levels of pain or anxiety will be randomly assigned to receive either brief Christian prayer (in person or virtually) or a control condition of 5 minutes of relaxing music.
Prayer sessions last approximately 5 to 15 minutes and are led by trained prayer practitioners.
All participants complete surveys about their pain and anxiety levels before and after the session, and again at 2 to 4 weeks and 6 to 8 weeks.
The goal is to determine whether prayer leads to greater improvement in pain and anxiety symptoms compared to the control condition, whether effects differ between in-person and virtual prayer, and how participants perceive the experience.
Studieoversigt
Status
Afsluttet
Betingelser
Intervention / Behandling
Detaljeret beskrivelse
This is a prospective, randomized, controlled study with four groups: Immediate In-Person Prayer (Group 1), In-Person Music Control (Group 2), Immediate Virtual Prayer (Group 3), and Virtual Music Control (Group 4).
Randomization uses an alternating list with equal probability of assignment to intervention or control within each arm.
The PIP arm recruits patients presenting in person at University of Maryland Department of Family and Community Medicine clinics.
The VIP arm recruits patients of the same clinics via email outreach, with sessions conducted over Zoom Healthcare.
The prayer intervention follows a standardized Christian 5-step prayer model.
The control condition consists of a 5 minutes of soothing instrumental music.
Outcome assessments use the GAD-7 and likert scare for anxiety and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale for pain, collected at baseline, immediately post-intervention (except GAD-7), 2 to 4 weeks, and 6 to 8 weeks.
Secondary analyses examine whether effects vary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and religious beliefs.
Participant perceptions of the prayer experience are also assessed.
This is a feasibility and pilot study.
Undersøgelsestype
Interventionel
Tilmelding (Faktiske)
180
Fase
- Ikke anvendelig
Kontakter og lokationer
Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.
Studiesteder
-
-
Maryland
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Baltimore, Maryland, Forenede Stater, 21201
- University of Maryland Department of Family and Community Medicine
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Deltagelseskriterier
Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.
Berettigelseskriterier
Aldre berettiget til at studere
- Voksen
- Ældre voksen
Tager imod sunde frivillige
Ingen
Beskrivelse
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patient at a University of Maryland Department of Family and Community Medicine clinic
- Score of 4 or more on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (0-10) and/or score of 10 or more on the GAD-7
Exclusion Criteria:
- currently pregnant
- Change in pain or anxiety medication within 24 hours of potential enrollment
Studieplan
Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.
Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?
Design detaljer
- Primært formål: Behandling
- Tildeling: Randomiseret
- Interventionel model: Parallel tildeling
- Maskning: Ingen (Åben etiket)
Våben og indgreb
Deltagergruppe / Arm |
Intervention / Behandling |
|---|---|
|
Eksperimentel: Proximal (In-Person) Intercessory Prayer (PIP)
5-15 minutes of in person PIP from a volunteer prayer practitioner following the 5-step prayer model
|
Brief Christian prayer (5-15 minutes) led by trained volunteer prayer practitioners following a standardized 5-step prayer model.
Delivered in person (Arm 1) or via Zoom Healthcare (Arm 3).
|
|
Aktiv komparator: In-Person Music Control
5 minutes of soothing instrumental music in a private room
|
5 minutes of soothing instrumental music.
|
|
Eksperimentel: Virtual Intercessory Prayer (VIP)
5-15 minutes of VIP over zoom from a volunteer prayer practitioner following the 5-step prayer model
|
Brief Christian prayer (5-15 minutes) led by trained volunteer prayer practitioners following a standardized 5-step prayer model.
Delivered in person (Arm 1) or via Zoom Healthcare (Arm 3).
|
|
Aktiv komparator: Virtual Music Control
5 minutes of soothing instrumental music in a private zoom room
|
5 minutes of soothing instrumental music.
|
Hvad måler undersøgelsen?
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Change in Pain Intensity
Tidsramme: Baseline and immediately post-intervention, 2-4 weeks, and 6-8 weeks
|
Change in score on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (0-10, with 10 being worst possible pain)
|
Baseline and immediately post-intervention, 2-4 weeks, and 6-8 weeks
|
|
Change in Anxiety (Likert Scale)
Tidsramme: Baseline and immediately post-intervention
|
Change in self-reported anxiety on a Likert scale
|
Baseline and immediately post-intervention
|
|
Change in Anxiety (GAD-7)
Tidsramme: Baseline, 2-4 weeks, and 6-8 weeks
|
Change in score on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7)
|
Baseline, 2-4 weeks, and 6-8 weeks
|
Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Participant Perception of Prayer Experience
Tidsramme: Immediately post-intervention
|
Self-reported participant experience and opinion regarding the prayer intervention, including desire to receive prayer again and opinion on whether prayer should be offered at other medical clinics.
Assessed in intervention groups only.
|
Immediately post-intervention
|
Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere
Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.
Samarbejdspartnere
Publikationer og nyttige links
Den person, der er ansvarlig for at indtaste oplysninger om undersøgelsen, leverer frivilligt disse publikationer. Disse kan handle om alt relateret til undersøgelsen.
Generelle publikationer
- Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.
- Byrd RC. Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population. South Med J. 1988 Jul;81(7):826-9. doi: 10.1097/00007611-198807000-00005.
- Romez C, Freedman K, Zaritzky D, Brown JW. Case report of instantaneous resolution of juvenile macular degeneration blindness after proximal intercessory prayer. Explore (NY). 2021 Jan-Feb;17(1):79-83. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2020.02.011. Epub 2020 Feb 28.
- Romez C, Zaritzky D, Brown JW. Case Report of gastroparesis healing: 16 years of a chronic syndrome resolved after proximal intercessory prayer. Complement Ther Med. 2019 Apr;43:289-294. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.03.004. Epub 2019 Mar 9.
- Matthews DA, Marlowe SM, MacNutt FS. Effects of intercessory prayer on patients with rheumatoid arthritis. South Med J. 2000 Dec;93(12):1177-86.
- Harris WS, Gowda M, Kolb JW, Strychacz CP, Vacek JL, Jones PG, Forker A, O'Keefe JH, McCallister BD. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. Arch Intern Med. 1999 Oct 25;159(19):2273-8. doi: 10.1001/archinte.159.19.2273.
- Brown CG, Mory SC, Williams R, McClymond MJ. Study of the therapeutic effects of proximal intercessory prayer (STEPP) on auditory and visual impairments in rural Mozambique. South Med J. 2010 Sep;103(9):864-9. doi: 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181e73fea.
- Boelens PA, Reeves RR, Replogle WH, Koenig HG. A randomized trial of the effect of prayer on depression and anxiety. Int J Psychiatry Med. 2009;39(4):377-92. doi: 10.2190/PM.39.4.c.
Datoer for undersøgelser
Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.
Studer store datoer
Studiestart (Faktiske)
20. maj 2024
Primær færdiggørelse (Faktiske)
19. maj 2025
Studieafslutning (Faktiske)
19. maj 2025
Datoer for studieregistrering
Først indsendt
27. april 2026
Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier
27. april 2026
Først opslået (Faktiske)
4. maj 2026
Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler
Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)
4. maj 2026
Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier
27. april 2026
Sidst verificeret
1. april 2026
Mere information
Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse
Yderligere relevante MeSH-vilkår
Andre undersøgelses-id-numre
- HP-00088654
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Kliniske forsøg med Intercessory Prayer
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University of FloridaAfsluttetSmerte | Stress | SeglcellesygdomForenede Stater