The Influence of Prayer on Critical Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit

Critical patients admitted to the intensive care unit ( ICU ) might experience some degree of depression or anxiety , due to different treatments and medications they receive . These mental conditions can persist even years after hospital discharge . Therefore, the mental health of these patients is one of the particular interest s . In this context, religious traditions and prayers are considered during the illness process. Objec tives: The current article reviews the beneficial effects of prayer in light of research conducted in this area.

A general search for electronic databases ( Medline, Science Direct and S pringer databases) was developed . The human studies of the influence of prayers in critically ill patients were evaluated .

The results indicated that prayer might be effective in reducing the severity of the disease in patients admitted to intensive care units and it has a positive e ffect on critical ICU patients.

It is recommended that a prayer - based approach be taken to improve the mental health of these patients in a clinical setting