Prayer as a Nursing Intervention

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Specializes in Orthopedic/Neuro.

Greetings, Fellow Nurses!

I am doing research into the use of prayer as a nursing intervention (thus, the title of this thread.) I have had the honor of praying with patients and families at the bedside and I am sure that many of you can say the same. What I am looking for is both anecdotal and research-based evidence that prayer is an effective and valid nursing intervention.

If you have stories to share, I will be delighted. I will also appreciate any suggestions regarding published material on this subject.

While I believe that there is probably nothing better that I can do for a patient and his or her family than to ask God for His intervention, I would like to hear from the experience of others in the profession that it really is effective.

Thank you in advance for your comments!

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If there were any such evidence, we probably wouldn't see many religions outside of Christianity...

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Specializes in PACU.

Do you have access to the Cochrane Library? There's an article on there with the title "Intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health" which basically says that a review of 10 studies with over 7000 participants showed that prayer makes no difference in whether or not patients die or are readmitted.

That said, I would not rule it out as an effective nursing intervention, as that review failed to consider the psychosocial benefits of prayer. I believe that where the patient or family verbalizes a desire for prayer that offering it/participating in their prayer session will comfort them.

P.S. you might want to consider reading this thread: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/prayer-patients-if-452002.html

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"I am doing research into the use of prayer as a nursing intervention .....What I am looking for is both anecdotal and research-based evidence that prayer is an effective and valid nursing intervention."

Sorry, but if you're just looking for material in favour of prayer, you're not "doing research" - you're looking for justification for a preconceived notion.

If you had said "I'm looking for studies about whether or not prayer is an effective intervention...", and left out the request for "anecdotes", I'd be able to take you more seriously as someone who wants to deliver evidence-based care. If you're not open to the possibility that prayer isn't an effective intervention, you're not going to be able to read any studies you find (either pro- or anti-prayer) in the spirit of critical inquiry.

Good luck, Rhymeswithlibrarian

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PS - I searched for the metaanalysis that Perpetual Student mentioned and found you can get the full text for free here:

http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD000368/frame.html

And of course, the study has a long list of other references you could look for.

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Specializes in Clinicals in Med-Surg., OB, CCU, ICU.

The research is most likely present. The only caution I would emphasis is to find sources which are not bias.

One would agree that sources which are backed by Pat Robertson and the like would be extremely one sided. I do respect one's religious views and would join in prayer if invited, but I personally do not believe in a god. To me prayer in this scenario is simply a mind exercise on the same level as meditation and distraction. Outside that, it does not have any other value.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

This thread has potential of spiraling off topic, let's be careful to not be divisive or inflammatory in our comments. :)

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"Please God, just let me get through this day" is sometimes prayed by me on a really bad day.

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As a psycho/social intervention I suppose prayer is a good one. However, there really is little or no concrete evidence that prayer directly affects outcomes or patient physical health.

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Here's my concern about advocating prayer as a nursing intervention:

To me, nursing interventions are specific actions which can be incorporated into a nursing careplan. I don't know of a specific protocol that all nurses would agree on. I don't know of a nursing textbook that lays out the steps of prayer for the nurse to use. (I know that supporting a patient's spirituality is discussed, but not praying for the patient.)

Certainly, I believe that one can pray for a patient, but I would be reluctant to class it as a nursing intervention.

Personally, I am very uncomfortable with research that tests the efficacy of prayer. It seems to emphasize the power of human petition rather than the will of God.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Anecdotes?

Yes, prayer helps. I have seen it over a 17 year period. If you want just to compile a book of people's experiences and not state it as research, perhaps that is the best path to go.

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Greetings, Fellow Nurses!

I am doing research into the use of prayer as a nursing intervention. I would like to hear from the experience of others in the profession that it really is effective.

Well, which is it?

Are you doing research into the use of prayer as a nursing intervention or are you just looking for others to tell you that it is effective?

If you are doing research, there is a fair amount out there and you have to put on your thinking cap to determine which studies or findings have good evidence behind them. If you are just looking for confirmation of your current viewpoint regardless of evidence based conclusions, you can find plenty of that real easy.

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