Study of the therapeutic effects of proximal intercessory prayer (STEPP) on auditory and visual impairments in rural Mozambique.
BACKGROUND
Proximal intercessory prayer (PIP) is a common complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy, but clinical effects are poorly understood, partly because studies have focused on distant intercessory prayer (DIP).


METHODS
This prospective study used an audiometer (Earscan(R) 3) and vision charts (40 cm, 6 m "Illiterate E") to evaluate 24 consecutive Mozambican subjects (19 males/5 females) reporting impaired hearing (14) and/or vision (11) who subsequently received PIP interventions.


RESULTS
We measured significant improvements in auditory (P <0.003) and visual (P <0.02) function across both tested populations.


CONCLUSIONS
Rural Mozambican subjects exhibited improved audition and/or visual acuity subsequent to PIP. The magnitude of measured effects exceeds that reported in previous suggestion and hypnosis studies. Future study seems warranted to assess whether PIP may be a useful adjunct to standard medical care for certain patients with auditory and/or visual impairments, especially in contexts where access to conventional treatment is limited.
Brown
Candy Gunther
CG
Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University, 1033 E 3rd St., Bloomington, IN 47405-7005, USA. browncg@indiana.edu
Mory
Stephen C
SC
Williams
Rebecca
R
McClymond
Michael J
MJ
D001299:Audiometry; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009073:Mozambique; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012067:Religion; D012424:Rural Population; D014110:Touch; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D015351:Vision Screening; D014792:Visual Acuity