ABSTRACT
The scope of this article was to investigate whether intercessory prayer (IP) influences the adverse outcomes of pregnancies. A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted with 564 pregnant women attending a prenatal public health care service. The women were randomly assigned to an IP group or to a control group (n = 289 per group). They were simultaneously and randomly assigned to practice prayer off-site or not. The following parameters were evaluated: Apgar scores, type of delivery and birth weight. The mean age of the women was 25.1 years of age (± 7.4), and the average gestational age was 23.4 weeks (± 8.1). The average number of years of schooling for the women was 8.1 years (± 3.1). The women in the IP and control groups presented a similar number of adverse medical events with non-significant p. No significant differences were detected in the frequency of adverse outcomes in pregnant women who practiced IP and those in the control group.
Este artigo tem por objetivo investigar se a oração intercessória influencia os desfechos adversos das mulheres grávidas. Foi realizado ensaio clínico randomizado duplo-cego com uma população de 564 gestantes que frequentavam Serviço de pré-natal de serviço público de saúde. As gestantes foram aleatoriamente designadas para grupo de intercessão ou grupo controle (n = 289 por grupo). Foram avaliados os seguintes parâmetros: índice de Apgar, tipo de parto, peso ao nascer. A idade média das mulheres foi de 25,1 anos (±7,4) e a idade gestacional média foi de 23,4 semanas (± 8,1). A média de anos de escolaridade foi de 8,1 anos (± 3,1). As mulheres que receberam intervenção (Oração intercessória) e grupo controle exibiram um número similar de eventos adversos, com p não significativo. Não encontramos diferença significativa entre os desfechos adversos na gestação entre os grupos que receberam oração intercessória e no grupo controle.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Young Adult , Pregnancy Complications/psychology , Pregnancy Outcome/psychology , Religion , Double-Blind MethodABSTRACT
Objetivo. Evaluar el efecto de la oración intercesora remota sobre la evolución clínica y la mortalidad de los pacientes críticamente enfermos. Materiales y métodos. Se condujo un experimento controlado de asignación aleatoria, doblemente enmascarado. Un grupo de pacientes admitidos a la unidad de cuidados intensivos de la Clínica de los Andes de Tunja (n=100), fue asignado aleatoriamente y pareado por gravedad a uno de dos grupos. El primer grupo (n=50) recibió intervención con oración intercesora remota adicional al manejo convencional según las guías de la unidad de cuidados intensivos. El segundo grupo no recibió la intervención de la oración. Se analizaron las variables basales demográficas y de creencia en la oración, y las de resultado clínico como índice de disfunción orgánica múltiple, días de estancia y mortalidad. Resultados. No hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las variables basales entre los dos grupos. En el grupo de oración, en comparación con el de control, la estancia fue significativamente mayor (p<0,02), el número de muertes fue menor (9 Vs. 15, p<0,05), y la mortalidad estandarizada fue menor (0,67 % Vs. 0,89 %, p<0,05). Por último, el índice de disfunción orgánica múltiple fue significativamente menor en el grupo de oración (3,24 Vs. 5,6, p=0,1). Conclusiones. La oración intercesora remota demostró capacidad para disminuir la mortalidad y los índices de disfunción orgánica múltiple, a expensas de un aumento de los días de estancia.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of remote intercessory prayer on clinical outcomes and mortality in critically-ill patients. Materials and methods: A randomized controlled double-blind trial was conducted. One hundred patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Clínica de los Andes de Tunja was randomly allocated and pair-matched by severity of the illness. All patients received conventional ICU treatment according to clinical guidelines. The treatment group had intercessory prayers whereas control group did not. Baseline demographic and belief-related variables were analyzed as well as clinical outcome variables such as multiple organ dysfunction, length of stay and mortality. Results: No differences were found between groups regarding baseline variables. Length of stay was significantly increased in the treatment group (p<0.02), mortality rate was lower in prayer group (9 versus 15, p<0.05) as well as standardized mortality rate (0.67 versus 0.89, p<0.05). Finally, the multiple organ dysfunction score was significantly lower in the treatment group (3.24 versus 5.6, p=0.1). Conclusions: Remote intercessory prayer was shown to decrease mortality and multiple organ dysfunction scores, at the expense of the length of stay.