Prayer and self-reported health among Americans with a history of cancer

B50

Background: Nearly 10.5 million Americans were alive who had been diagnosed with cancer in 2003. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007 about 1.5 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed. Non-Hispanic blacks, especially males and persons with low socioeconomic status have the highest rates of both new cancers and cancer deaths. Many cancer patients may resort to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to aid in survivorship issues including specific health problems and preventive medicine for overall health. Religion and spirituality, oftentimes including prayer, have been associated with health-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore the correlates of prayer for health and self-reported health as well as the association between prayer for health and reported physical health among persons previously diagnosed with cancer. Also, we wanted to explore specifically whether there was an association between grouped cancer sites and prayer for health, that is, if the more chronic cancers (e.g., short-survival cancers) were associated with greater levels of prayer for health.
 Methods: We used data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) which collected information on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practices to examine the relationship between prayer for health and self-reported physical health among a sample of men and women who had a history of cancer. The statistical program SUDAAN (version 9.1) was used in the analysis to take into account this complex sampling survey design.
 Results: Among men and women with a history of cancer, 68.5% reported having prayed for their own health and 72% reported good or better health. For cancer survivors, praying for one’s own health was associated with several sociodemographic variables including being female, non-Hispanic black, and never married. Persons who reported a history of breast, colorectal, cancers that have short survival times, and other cancers prayed more for their health than those persons with a history of skin cancers. Overall, praying for one’s own health was inversely associated with good and better health statuses. Respondents who reported good or better health were more likely to be female, younger, have higher levels of education and income, and have no history of other chronic disease.
 Conclusions: Data from this nationally representative sample indicate that prayer for health is commonly used among people with a history of cancer. For persons who had ever prayed for their own health, 88% had prayed within the past year. However, we do not know the frequency of prayer (how often), its ultimate purpose for health, or its specific health-related focus. These findings should offer information and insight to both researchers and health care providers about the use of prayer among cancer survivors.