Medical Effects of Proximal (In-person) Intercessory (PIP) and Virtual Intercessory Prayer (VIP) on Pain and Anxiety
27 april 2026 uppdaterad av: 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.
Studieöversikt
Status
Avslutad
Betingelser
Intervention / Behandling
Detaljerad beskrivning
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.
Studietyp
Interventionell
Inskrivning (Faktisk)
180
Fas
- Inte tillämpbar
Kontakter och platser
Det här avsnittet innehåller kontaktuppgifter för dem som genomför studien och information om var denna studie genomförs.
Studieorter
-
-
Maryland
-
Baltimore, Maryland, Förenta staterna, 21201
- University of Maryland Department of Family and Community Medicine
-
-
Deltagandekriterier
Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.
Urvalskriterier
Åldrar som är berättigade till studier
- Vuxen
- Äldre vuxen
Tar emot friska volontärer
Nej
Beskrivning
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
Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.
Hur är studien utformad?
Designdetaljer
- Primärt syfte: Behandling
- Tilldelning: Randomiserad
- Interventionsmodell: Parallellt uppdrag
- Maskning: Ingen (Open Label)
Vapen och interventioner
Deltagargrupp / Arm |
Intervention / Behandling |
|---|---|
|
Experimentell: 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.
|
|
Experimentell: 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.
|
Vad mäter studien?
Primära resultatmått
Resultatmått |
Åtgärdsbeskrivning |
Tidsram |
|---|---|---|
|
Change in Pain Intensity
Tidsram: 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)
Tidsram: Baseline and immediately post-intervention
|
Change in self-reported anxiety on a Likert scale
|
Baseline and immediately post-intervention
|
|
Change in Anxiety (GAD-7)
Tidsram: 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
|
Sekundära resultatmått
Resultatmått |
Åtgärdsbeskrivning |
Tidsram |
|---|---|---|
|
Participant Perception of Prayer Experience
Tidsram: 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
|
Samarbetspartners och utredare
Det är här du hittar personer och organisationer som är involverade i denna studie.
Samarbetspartners
Publikationer och användbara länkar
Den som ansvarar för att lägga in information om studien tillhandahåller frivilligt dessa publikationer. Dessa kan handla om allt som har med studien att göra.
Allmänna 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.
Studieavstämningsdatum
Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.
Studera stora datum
Studiestart (Faktisk)
20 maj 2024
Primärt slutförande (Faktisk)
19 maj 2025
Avslutad studie (Faktisk)
19 maj 2025
Studieregistreringsdatum
Först inskickad
27 april 2026
Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna
27 april 2026
Första postat (Faktisk)
4 maj 2026
Uppdateringar av studier
Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)
4 maj 2026
Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna
27 april 2026
Senast verifierad
1 april 2026
Mer information
Termer relaterade till denna studie
Ytterligare relevanta MeSH-villkor
Andra studie-ID-nummer
- HP-00088654
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