Centre for Policy on Ageing



Spiritual healing in elderly psychiatric patients — a case-control study in an Egyptian psychiatric hospital
Author(s)	E Salib, S Youakim
Journal title	Aging & Mental Health, vol 5, no 4, November 2001
Pages	pp 366-370
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Spiritual characteristics [elderly] ; Schizophrenia ; Psychogeriatric patients ; Geriatric hospitals ; Egypt.
Annotation	In some cultures, mental illness and its treatment may be closely linked to beliefs relating to sin, suffering, and separation from the divine, or even possession by evil. This study explores whether there was an association between receiving spiritual healing and the occurrence of schizophrenic relapses in a sample of older Egyptian patients. Those receiving spiritual healing relapsed more frequently than those who did not. Relapse was also associated with age and certain methods of healing. The risk of relapse was independent of gender, duration of illness and type of religion. It is difficult to ascertain that relapse actually started after the process of spiritual healing and not before. The study's findings may suggest that religious history - at least in some cases - should be taken into consideration when planning future management. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-011210211 A
Classmark	EX: ELK: LF:E: LDA: 7KA
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.