Self-Reported Health, and Illness and the Use of Conventional and Unconventional Medicine and Mind/Body Healing by Christian Scientists and Others

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Abstract
A cross-sectional national telephone survey was used to determine whether Christian Scientists (N = 230), a religious group that uses mind/body (including spiritual) healing, self-report more or less illness than non-Christian Scientists (N = 589). The primary outcome measure was the proportion of Christian Scientists and non-Christian Scientists that, during the previous 12 months: a) experienced any of 13 common medical conditions or symptoms; and b) used conventional medicine, unconventional medicine, and mind/body (including spiritual) healing. Fewer Christian Scientists experienced an illness or symptom than non-Christian Scientists (73% vs. 80%, respectively, p = .05). A multivariate analysis showed that Christian Scientists were less likely to have experienced illness than non-Christian Scientists (odds ratio [OR] .66, 95% confidence interval [CI] .44 to .99, p = .04). Similar proportions of Christian Scientists and non-Christian Scientists used some type of conventional medicine (74% vs. 78%, respectively), although Christian Scientists were less likely to take prescription medications than non-Christian Scientists (p = .034). Although use of unconventional medicine was similar in both groups (52% vs. 45%), more Christian Scientists than non-Christian Scientists used at least one type of mind/body medicine (67% vs. 42% p