Abstract
Current evidence supports the efficacy of placebo analgesia and illustrates that patients
may be open to placebo use despite uncertainty regarding its mechanisms. Debate persists,
however, concerning the ethics of placebo treatments. The purpose of the present web-based
study was to expand upon the empirical literature on placebo analgesia ethics and
acceptability. Participants (n = 100) provided their definition of a placebo and responded
to 24 questions addressing placebo analgesia perceived knowledge, acceptability, effectiveness,
and likelihood of placebo use among different health care providers. Results support
previous research on the effects of placebo on negative mood and health care provider
attributions, with findings illustrating that negative consequences of administration
were largely mitigated by a beneficial treatment outcome. Results showed that participants
conceptualized placebo as predominately inert and were mixed regarding interpretations
of placebo effectiveness. Though acceptability ratings were dependent on the context
of placebo administration, participants endorsing even moderate placebo acceptability
were more open to placebo interventions and reported overall more positive treatment
outcomes. Participants believed that placebos were used differentially among health
care providers. Additional studies are needed to determine if placebo education can
beneficially impact perceptions of placebo analgesia knowledge, acceptability, and
treatment effectiveness.
Perspective
This study presents an examination of analgesic placebo treatment perceived acceptability,
efficacy, and knowledge among lay individuals. Our findings highlight the importance
of assessing placebo conceptualizations and treatment perceptions in evaluating placebo
ethics—a highly relevant finding that informs the clinical use of placebo components
in managing pain.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 02, 2012
Accepted:
June 13,
2012
Received in revised form:
June 7,
2012
Received:
April 12,
2012
Footnotes
This manuscript was supported by Grant 5R01AT001424-06 to (M.R.) from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the NIH.
The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
