Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)

• Sponsor: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Other)
• Overall Status: Completed
• CT.gov ID: NCT00179491
• Collaborator: John Templeton Foundation (Other), INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center (Other), Medstar Health Research Institute (Other), Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation (Other), Mayo Clinic (Other)
• Enrollment: 1,802
• Arms: 3
• Duration (Months): 43

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

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.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery	Behavioral: Intercessory Prayer	Phase 3

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 Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Actual Enrollment: 1802 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)
• Study Start Date: Apr 1, 1998
• Actual Study Completion Date: Nov 1, 2001

Arms and Interventions

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

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Whether receiving intercessory prayer was associated with uncomplicated recovery after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. [30 days]

Secondary Outcome Measures

1. Whether being certain of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with uncomplicated recovery after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. [30 days]

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years and Older
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

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

Contacts and Locations

Locations

No locations specified.

Sponsors and Collaborators

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

Investigators

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

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00179491
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2001-P-002125
• First Posted: Sep 16, 2005
• Last Update Posted: Nov 4, 2007
• Last Verified: Nov 1, 2007

• Keywords provided by , ,: coronary artery bypass grafting surgery

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Nov 4, 2007