Experiences and Attitudes About Faith Healing Among Family Physicians Dana E. King, MD; Jeffery Sobal, PhD, MPH; Jesse Haggerty III, MD, MSc, MPH, PhD; Marv Dent. MA: and Dean Patton. MI} Greenville, North Carolina, and Ithaca, New York Background. Recent media attention has focused on pa­ quently than once a year. Fifty-five percent agreed and tients who use faith healers to care for their medical 20% disagreed that reliance on faith healers often leads problems. Many people who use faith healers also con­ to serious medical problems. However, 44% thought sult physicians. This study was done to learn more that physicians and faith healers can work together about how often physicians sec patients who are in­ to cure some patients, and 23% believed that faith volved in faith healing, and to learn more about physi­ healers divinely heal some people whom phvsicians cians’ attitudes about, and experiences with, faith heal­ cannot help. ing. Conclusions. These results suggest that family physi­ Methods. A 1-page questionnaire was mailed to 1025 cians are infrequently aware o f faith-healing beliefs and family physicians in seven states; 594 participated, for a experiences among their patients. Family physicians response rate o f 59%. were divided in their views about faith healing, with a Results. Approximately one half (52%) of the physi­ majority' expressing skepticism about faith healing and cians were aware o f at least one patient in their practice a sizeable minority favorable toward it. who had had a faith-healing experience. Most physi­ Key words. Religion and medicine; faith healing; alter­ cians came in contact with such patients no more fre­ native medicine. / Fam Pract 1992; 35:158-162. Faith healing may be one of the most potent and dan­ attended a faith healing service, and 29% believed that gerous types o f alternative medicine used by patients faith healers can help some people whom phvsicians today. Parents who have used prayer instead of medical cannot help.9 Among inner-city' patients in Kentucky, care for their sick children, resulting in the death o f the 10% had attended faith healing services and 8% (80% of children, have received considerable attention in both the those who attended) stated that they had been healed.10 lay press and the medical literature.1-7 Examples o f the Whether physicians are aware that their patients arc strong positive influence o f faith healing can also be participating in faith healing is an important question, found; a study by Randolph Byrd showed decreased since such activity can have a profound and possibly complications in a group o f coronary care patients ran­ dangerous effect on their patients.11 Some physicians arc domized to receive intercessory prayer.8 Many physicians aware of unique group beliefs, such as the Jehovah’s consider such reports to be “extreme” and not relevant to Witnesses’ refusal of blood transfusions, but thev do not clinical practice. However, people who use faith healers routinely explore religious beliefs.13-15 It would be help­ often consult physicians as well. One survey o f patients in ful to know more about physicians’ experiences and a rural family practice revealed that 21% of patients had attitudes about faith healing, particularly whether they' arc aware of patient involvement in faith healing activi­ ties. Submitted, reinsert, M arch 5, 1992. To provide a perspective about this issue, we con­ This paper was presented, in part, at the North American Primary Care Research ducted a survey of family physicians. On the basis of Croup in Quebec City, Que, P.Q., May 1991. previous discussions of the medical aspects o f this is­ Prom the Department of Family Medicine (Drs King, Haggerty, and Patton and Ms sue,10-11-14 we hypothesized that physicians would have Dent), Past Carolina School o f Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina, and the Dirnion little awareness o f faith healing among their patients, and o f Nutritional Sciences (D r Sobal), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dana P. King, MD, Family Practice Center, Past that many would have negative attitudes toward faith Carolina University School of Medicine, Greenville, N C 27858-4354. healers. © 1992 Appleton & Lange ISSN 0094-3509 158 The Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 35, No. 2, 1992 Physician Attitudes About Faith Healing King, Sobal, Haggertv, Dent, and Patton Methods Table 1. Personal Faith-Healing Experiences of Family Physicians* A 1-page questionnaire was mailed to a random sample Have vou ever attended a o f 1025 family physicians in North Carolina, New York, faith-healing service? Florida, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, and California in Oc­ Variables Yes (%) No {%) tober 1990. These states were chosen because they are All responders 91 (16) 493 (84) populous, regionally dispersed, and include both urban Religious preference (P = .041) and rural areas. The random sample was provided by the Protestant (n = 282) 54(19) 228(81) American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) from a Catholic (n = 154) 21 (14) 133 (86) Jewish (n = 42) 1 (2) 41 (98) mailing list o f members involved in direct patient care or None (n = 55) 6(11) 49 (89) teaching. Two follow-up mailings were sent following Other (n = 38) 5 (13) 33 (87) the method o f Dillman.16 Strength of religious beliefs The questionnaire included items about age, sex, (.P < .0001) race, and practice location (rural or urban). Questions Very strong (n = 243) 60 (25) 183 (75) about religious preferences, religious beliefs, and fre­ Somewhat (n =116) 26 (12) 190 (88) Not very (n = 92) 4 (4) 88 (96) quency of attending religious sendees were based on Not at all (n = 29) 1 (3) 28 (97) items in a 1990 national population survey.17 Physicians Wwnrv responses arc expressed as percentages o f total respondents (N - 504) or row were also asked about their awareness of faith-healing percent. Some data for specific questions were missinq because respondents did not answer practices among their patients and their attitudes toward some questions. Percentages were rounded. faith healers. Attitudes were assessed by 13 statements about faith healing, which the respondents rated using a 5-point Likert-type scale. “Faith healing” was defined in weekly religious services. These figures were similar to a cover letter as involving “religious leaders who pray for national data about religion in the general population.17 a person’s healing at a public meeting, often accompanied Sixteen percent of the physicians in this sample had bv touching the person while a leader prays,” or “a attended a faith-healing service (Table 1). Physicians person privately seeking the help of a religious leader and with strong religious beliefs and Protestants were signif­ using prayer as a method of being healed.” Respondents icantly more likely to have attended a faith-healing ser­ were encouraged to provide additional comments re­ vice. No significant differences existed by sex, state, or garding the questionnaire. practice location. Relationships between variables were examined us­ Physicians did not usually discuss religion with their ing cross-tabulation, analysis o f variance, correlation, and patients, with most (83%) doing so only sometimes or factor analysis o f attitude questions. A statistical power rarely. Just over half the physicians were aware o f at least analysis conducted before the survey determined that the one patient in their practice who had had a faith-healing number of responses needed was between 434 and 564. experience. Most physicians (91%) reported coming into contact with such patients no more frequently than once a year. Physicians who had strong religious beliefs and who were Protestant were somewhat more likely to dis­ Results cuss religious beliefs with patients and to say patients had A total of 594 physicians responded to the three mailings told them about a faith-healing experience (P < .01). of the questionnaire for a final response rate of 59%, Physicians from North Carolina were more likely to which is in line with other studies using questionnaires know of a faith-healing experience, and those from New mailed to physicians.18 Most of the respondents were York less likely; there were no differences between phy­ white and male (85%), with a mean age of 41 years. The sicians from urban and rural locations. demographics o f the respondents were not statistically The attitude statements used for the questionnaire different from those of the overall membership of the are presented in descending order by strength of agree­ AAFP in terms o f age, sex, and practice location (A. ment in Table 2. Physicians were most in agreement on Winker, written communication, AAFP, March 1991). the following positions: that they could help patients that Almost one half the respondents were Protestant, faith healers could not help, that they should consider 27% were Catholic, 7% were Jewish, 7% other religions, patients’ spiritual needs, and that relying on faith healers and 10% professed no religious affiliation. A total of leads to serious medical problems. For many o f the other 42% were very strong in their religious beliefs, 37% attitude questions, a large percentage o f physicians were somewhat strong, and 20% not very or not at all strong. uncertain. Twenty-three percent o f physicians agreed Almost half the physicians stated that they attended that faith healers can divinely heal some people. Most The Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 35, No. 2, 1992 159 King, Sobal, Haggerty, Dent, and Patton Physician Attitudes About Faith Healing Table 2. Physicians’ Attitudes About Faith Healing* (Ranked by mean level of agreement^ Responses ( i a Scale of 1 to 5 Strongly Strongly Disagree Factor Agree Agree Undecided Disagree (5) Score Question (1) (2) (3) (4) <1 <1 .24 Physicians can help some people faith healers 45 50 5 cannot help.