Study finds prayer #1 coping strategy for older adults

Health Progress, Mar/Apr 2001

A majority of older adults use prayer as a means of coping with stress and as a method of self-treatment, according to a pilot study conducted by the University of Florida and Wayne State University and published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing.

The survey sample included 50 elderly community dwellers, with a mean age of 74 years, from six community centers and one church in a racially diverse Midwestern city. Forty-eight percent were white and 52 percent were black. Seventy percent were women. Forty-eight percent were Catholic and 46 percent were Protestant.

Survey results indicated that 96 percent of those sampled used prayer as a coping strategy. Income, marital status, religious affiliation, and age did not affect the use of prayer. However, the study did show that women and blacks used prayer significantly more often than men and whites. There was also a correlation noted between use of prayer and style of coping.Using a 4-point Likert-type scale, participants were asked to rank eight coping strategies, as classified on the Jalowiec Coping Scale. Those who ranked "optimistic" or "self-- reliant" higher used prayer more frequently than those who ranked other styles higher, such as "confrontive," "emotive," and "fatalistic."

Eighty-four percent also reported using prayer as a complementary or alternative treatment, ranking prayer above 31 other alternatives, including exercise, relaxation techniques, humor, music, and folk remedies.

In caring for patients holistically, nurses do not need to feel that they are intruding into their patients' private religious lives, nor do they have to share their patients' religious beliefs. However, nurses should recognize and understand the importance of prayer among older adults as a self-care modality.