How widely accepted is distant healing as an alternative healing practice?
It is difficult to quantify the prevalence of the use of DHI as a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy in the United States because it is so commonly practiced within American religious and spiritual life. A national survey in 1996 found that 82 percent of Americans believed in the healing power of prayer; 64 percent felt that physicians should pray with patients who request it (Wallis, 1996). A study by Cassileth (1984) found that 19 percent of cancer patients report they have augmented their conventional medical care with prayer or spiritual healing. A survey of women in the American Cancer Society’s support groups for women with breast cancer showed that 88 percent found spiritual or religious practice important in coping with their illness (Johnson & Spilka, 1991), although the extent to which specific prayers or intentions of healing were part of their activities was not clear. In acute illnesses, such as cardiac events, these numbers rise even further. Saudia and
