Distant Healing for HIV/AIDS

The purpose of this study is to determine whether individuals praying at a distance (also known as "Distant Healing") can positively affect the health of people with HIV/AIDS.

Completed

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Key information

Conditions

HIV Infections AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Blood-Borne Infections Communicable Diseases Genital Diseases Immune System Diseases Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes Infections Lentivirus Infections RNA Virus Infections Retroviridae Infections Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral Slow Virus Diseases Urogenital Diseases Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

California Pacific Medical Center

San Francisco, California, 94115, United States

About this study

Significant numbers of people with HIV/AIDS seek spiritual or "psychic" treatment. Distant healing could potentially be of benefit to large numbers of HIV/AIDS patients, as it is widely available and requires no travel or other activity on the part of the patient. However, the treatment can be costly and has not yet been proven effective in a controlled clinical trial. This study will evaluate the efficacy of distant healing in patients with HIV/AIDS.

Participants in this study will be randomly assigned to either the distant healing group or a control group. All participants will have hour-long study visits at entry and Months 6 and 12. At study visits, participants will complete a demographic questionnaire, self-report health and symptom inventory, quality of life assessment, and profile of mood states. Blood will be drawn at each study visit.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

HIV infection
History of a CD4 cell count less than 200 cells/mm3
Stable antiretroviral regimen
English-speaking

Exclusion criteria

Inability or unwillingness to fill out questionnaires
History of non-HIV related life-threatening disease

Treatment and study plan

Non-local/distant healing or prayer

Behavioral

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Nih

Registry information

Official study title

Distant Healing Efforts for AIDS by Nurses and "Healers"

Important dates

Study start: 2000
Study completion: 2003
First posted: Mar 10, 2004
Registry last updated: Aug 18, 2006

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed