Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 29, 2026
08:50
How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants
Published on: December 14, 2014
9.8K
Placebo Trends across the Border: US versus Canada
Cory S Harris1, Natasha K J Campbell2, Amir Raz2,3
1Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Plos One
|November 26, 2015
Summary
Physician placebo use shows minor cross-border variation despite differing healthcare systems. Impure placebos, like supplements, are common in both US and Canadian clinics, raising ethical concerns.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Clinical Practice
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Physicians globally use placebos, but inconsistent methods hinder comparisons.
- Canadian physicians practice within a universal healthcare model, differing from the US system.
- No formal placebo policy exists in Canada, potentially influencing physician practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare placebo use and perceptions between US and Canadian physicians.
- To identify cross-border differences and similarities in clinical placebo application.
- To investigate the ethical and practical implications of placebo use.
Main Methods:
- An online survey was distributed to academic physicians in Canada.
- Responses from internists and rheumatologists were extracted for analysis.
- Data were compared to parallel US data obtained through similar methodologies.
Main Results:
- Canadian physicians reported lower use of pure placebos (23±7%) compared to US physicians (45%-80%).
- A high percentage of Canadian physicians (79±7%) prescribed treatments without proven efficacy, similar to US data.
- Impure placebos (e.g., vitamins, supplements) and use as a diagnostic tool were more prevalent in Canada.
Conclusions:
- Clinical placebo use shows minor variation across US and Canadian healthcare systems.
- The prevalence of impure placebos in both countries presents ethical and practical challenges.
- Further investigation into placebo use and policy is warranted.
More Related Videos
06:42Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
12.4K
11:51Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
15.8K
Related Concept Videos
01:54The Placebo Effect
7.1K
The placebo effect occurs when people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words, simply expecting something to happen can actually make it happen.
7.1K
02:07Blind Procedures
13.9K
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which...
13.9K
01:11Blinding
4.1K
Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.
4.1K
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
7.3K
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
7.3K
01:29Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
333
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is the clinical practice of measuring specific drug levels in a patient's blood or body tissues to manage and optimize therapy. TDM is crucial for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows, like warfarin and phenytoin, where incorrect doses can lead to treatment failure or severe side effects. This monitoring ensures the dosage administered is within a safe and effective range. The factors affecting therapeutic drug monitoring include:Patient-Specific Factors:a.
333
01:22Pharmaceutical Alternatives: Stability-Related Therapeutic Nonequivalence
243
Generic intravenous (IV) drugs are considered bioequivalent to their branded counterparts due to their 100% bioavailability upon administration. However, variations in stability among different drug products can significantly influence their therapeutic performance, even if they are pharmaceutically equivalent.Cefuroxime, a prophylactic antimicrobial, is often used as a single-dose IV injection for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. A 3 g dose typically provides...
243