An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

cancers has been documented by Phillips et al (1980), Phillips and Snowdown (1984) andZollinger (1984), who found that the survival rate for breast and other cancers was higherin Seventh Day Adventists than non Seven Day Adventists. There was some indication thatchurch attendees and people with a religious affiliation, where prayer, music andmeditation are practised, experience a better health profile than non church attendees.The medical study by Krucoff et al. (2005) on music, imagery, touch, and prayer asadjuncts of interventional cardiac care does not separate prayer from music and thereforestates clearly that although these therapies are used extensively by the general population,there is a limited amount of available data on the approaches and none that proves theirsafety or effectiveness. This study attempted to standardize the intervention into cardiaccare by using cassette type based music and imagery script as well as practitionerqualification but could not standardize the „dose‟ that was delivered to the clients. Theresearchers concluded that without a clear mechanism or „dose‟ they could not produce anyethical or scientific standard for the randomized trial.Hallett (2004) and Quinn (1989a) both observe that there are profound difficulties in theway of designing empirical research which would could effectively deliver outcomemeasures for therapeutic touch, or the laying on of hands especially in aspects where theintention is to discriminate between these outcomes and those of other associated activitiessuch as anointing with oil, and the use of music and prayer. Researchers are probablyreluctant to engage in this field as research necessarily invades a personal relationshipbetween the healer, the „healed‟ and God. As noted in the first chapter, the presentresearch is based on far too small a sample to add anything to this rather inconclusiveliterature attempting to assess empirically the effectiveness. It is however, necessary to52