Talismans and amulets in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Legendary powers in contemporary medicine

Background: For centuries talismans and amulets have been used in many cult ures for their legendary healing powers. Methods: We asked the parents of every child (Jews and Arabs) admitted to t he Pediatric Intensive Care Unit over a 2 month period to complete a questi onnaire, which included demographic data on the patient and the family, the use of talismans or other folk medicine practices, and the perception of t he effects of these practices on the patient's well-being. A different ques tionnaire was completed by the ICU staff members on their attitude toward.; be use of amulets. Results: Thirty percent of the families used amulets and talismans in the I CU irrespective of the socioeconomic status of the family or the severity o f the patient's illness. Amulets and talismans were used significantly more by religious Jews, by families with a higher parental educational level, a nd where the hospitalized child was very young. The estimated frequency of amulet use by the children's families, as perceived by the staff, was signi ficantly higher than actual use reported by the parents. In Jewish families the actual use of amulets was found to be 30% compared to the 60% rate est imated by the medical Staff; while in Moslem families the actual use was ze ro compared to the staffs estimation of about 36%. Of the 19 staff members, 14 reported that the use of amulets seemed to reduce the parents' anxiety, while 2 claimed that amulet use sometimes interfered with the staffs abili ty to carry out medical treatment. Conclusions: The use of talismans in a technologically advanced western soc iety is more frequent than may have been thought. Medical and paramedical p ersonnel dealing with very ill patients should be aware of the emotional an d psychological implications of such beliefs and practices on patients and their families.