Health promoting habits of people who pray for their health.
To determine the health habits of people who pray for their health, data from the National Health Interview Survey was analyzed for health habits of people who prayed or did not pray for their health. Of the 22,314 respondents, 13,179 (59%) prayed for their health. These individuals saw a physician more frequently, participated more frequently in vigorous exercise and used more relaxation techniques, support groups, meditation and complimentary and alternative medicine therapies. People who pray for their health participate in more health promoting behaviors than people who do not pray for their health.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. j.harrigan@verizon.net
John T
JT
Harrigan
D000328:Adult; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D029221:Faith Healing; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior