FAITH HEALING

Objectives: To observe the frequency and various modes of faith / spiritualhealing adopted by patients admitted with surgical diseases and their effects on course ofdisease. Study design: Prospective, observational. Setting: Surgical Department Aziz BhattiShaheed (Teaching) Hospital Gujrat, & Surgical department Islam Medical& Dental CollegeSialkot. Duration of study: January 2013 to June 2013. Material& Methods: Patients of both sexand all age groups admitted surgical wards of in both study setting during the study period wereincluded in the study. Unattended/non cooperative and patients with trauma were excluded.Their surgical problems were evaluated and recorded. Various techniques of spiritual/ faithhealing being adopted by the patients either as primary or /and an adjuvant modality were notedand resulted formulated. Results: A total of 953 patients with surgical problems were admitted inboth study settings. 788 patients (82.68%) were found to be using one or another technique offaith /spiritual healing as a primary or/ and an adjuvant to medical treatment. Out of total 788patients 414 (52.53%) were female, no much difference of adaptation of various spiritual/faithhealing was found in literate and illiterate population. This practice of adopting spiritual/faithhealing was more common in rural population (n=493 62.56%). Conclusions: Trust on faith/spiritual healing techniques is a common phenomenon in society, but it is a commonest knownreason of late presentation, diagnosis, treatment of the diseases leading to poor outcome. Onemust trust Allah, and it is consistent to apply every remedy that comes with in the range of one’sknowledge, and then to ask Allah to sanctify that application to the healing of ailment. Religiousscholars, electronic as well as print media can play a vital role in making people aware of this factthat will eventually lead to early diagnosis, treatment and better outcome of various bodyailments.