Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

More trials, fewer placebos, please.

M E Dean1

  • 1Department of Health Sciences and Clinical Evaluation, University of York, Heslington, UK.

The British Homoeopathic Journal
|October 31, 2000
PubMed
Summary

Randomized placebo-controlled trials for homeopathy may be better replaced by equivalence or patient-preference trials. These methods offer valuable comparative data for health services and assess treatment value in chronic disease management.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Parenteral oestrogen in the treatment of prostate cancer: a systematic review.

British journal of cancer·2008
Same author

Homeopathy for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or hyperkinetic disorder.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2007
Same author

Reporting data on homeopathic treatments (RedHot): a supplement to CONSORT.

Homeopathy : the journal of the Faculty of Homeopathy·2007
Same author

'An innocent deception': placebo controls in the St Petersburg homeopathy trial, 1829-1830.

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine·2006
Same author

Management of colorectal cancers.

Quality & safety in health care·2004
Same author

Homeopathy and "the progress of science".

History of science·2001

Area of Science:

  • Homeopathy research methodology
  • Integrative medicine trial design

Background:

  • Traditional randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) in homeopathy face limitations.
  • Alternative research methods are needed to assess homeopathic treatment efficacy and value.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the limitations of using RCTs for homeopathy research.
  • To propose and assess alternative trial designs for homeopathy research.
  • To determine methods for evaluating comparative treatment value and clinical changes in chronic disease.

Main Methods:

  • Critically analyzed the suitability of randomized placebo-controlled trials for homeopathy.
  • Proposed randomized equivalence trials and patient-preference trials as alternatives.
  • Considered observational studies, audit, and quality-of-life assessments.

Main Results:

  • Randomized placebo-controlled trials may not be the most informative method for homeopathy.
  • Randomized equivalence and patient-preference trials offer valuable comparative data for health services.
  • Pragmatic approaches allow assessment of clinical change in chronic disease without strict placebo constraints.

Conclusions:

  • Alternative trial designs like equivalence and patient-preference trials are more informative for homeopathy research.
  • These pragmatic methods provide essential data for health services evaluating comparative treatment value.
  • Homeopathy research can benefit from methods that assess clinical change over time in chronic conditions.

Related Experiment Videos