Placebo effect is positive!

A placebo effect is a term used to explain the result of a health research experiment or study in which a group of participants is divided and one half of the group receives a treatment and the other half does not receive a treatment, rather they receive an inactive treatment.  What is interesting about the placebo effect is that some participants who receive the placebo respond the same as those participants that received the actual treatment.  A challenge that the placebo effect has on health research is that it forces the experiment to prove that the effect of the real treatment is not only statistically significant; it must also show a statistically significant effect that is also greater than that of the placebo (Brannon & Feist, 2004).  This can present an interesting challenge for researchers as the placebo can have an effect on other areas of behavior and can be considered a “noise” in the results.  One solution that I believe would be helpful to resolve this issue would be to have three groups: one receiving a placebo, one receiving a legitimate treatment, and another group receiving neither a placebo nor a treatment.

Institutional review boards and other governing bodies of research go through great lengths to make sure that the administrations of placebos are done in an ethical manner when using human participants.  Participants must be informed clearly of the fact they may receive a placebo and the use of a placebo is preferred only when there is a positive risk-reward relationship for the study (U. C. Irvine, 2006).  Health research is always scrutinized from an ethical standpoint and the use of placebos in studies can be controversial in some situations such as when the study includes those diagnosed with a form of mental illness often because of controversies surrounding their ability to effectively understand consent (Lapierre, 1998). However, in most cases placebos, although troublesome for the researcher, have a fairly positive effect on the patient and are necessary overall when performing blind research studies.

Good Article: Lapierre, Y. D. (1998).  Placebo: Pro and con.  Communiqué, 8(2). University of California, Irvine (2006).  Placebo controlled studies.  Human Research Protection Programs.  Retrieved March 13, 2007 from the U.C. Irvine databases: http://www.rgs.uci.edu/ora/rp/hrpp/placebocontrolledstudies.htm