Prayer a Nurses’ Tool to Reduce Pain and Promote Comfort in Clients

Pain and discomfort detract from full participation in life and can be treated holistically. In a small Lutheran church with a predominant geriatric membership, the expression of physical pain and discomfort was frequently noted. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental project was to determine if the implementation of Aarhus University’s proximal intercessory prayer would impact pain and discomfort among adult members of a Lutheran church in the Northeastern United States over two weeks. Kolcaba’s theory of comfort was used as the theoretical framework to guide the project. The total sample (N =12) were active church members who self-reported physical pain. Data were obtained from a numeric pain rating scale and the Kolcaba verbal rating comfort scale. The Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed a statistically significant reduction in self-reported median pain scores from before (Median=5, IQR = 4, 6) to after the intervention (Median = 3, IQR= 2.25, 4), Z = 2.33, p= .020. In addition, the Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed a statistically significant reduction in median discomfort scores from before (Median=6, IQR=5 ,7) to after the intervention (Median = 4, IQR= 3, 5), Z = 2.97, p= .003. The proximal intercessory prayer intervention was clinically significant as it added a holistic approach for church members to manage their physical pain and discomfort. Recommendations include continuation of the program for a longer period and replication at another site with a larger and more diverse population