Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants
Published on: December 14, 2014
Model validity and risk of bias in randomised placebo-controlled trials of individualised homeopathic treatment
Robert T Mathie1, Michel Van Wassenhoven2, Jennifer Jacobs3
1British Homeopathic Association, Hahnemann House, 29 Park Street West, Luton LU1 3BE, UK.
Background:
To date, our programme of systematic reviews has assessed randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of individualised homeopathy separately for risk of bias (RoB) and for model validity of homeopathic treatment (MVHT).
Objectives:
The purpose of the present paper was to bring together our published RoB and MVHT findings and, using an approach based on GRADE methods, to merge the quality appraisals of these same RCTs, examining the impact on meta-analysis results.
Design:
Systematic review with meta-analysis.
Methods:
As previously, 31 papers (reporting a total of 32 RCTs) were eligible for systematic review and were the subject of study.
Main Outcome Measures:
For each trial, the separate ratings for RoB and MVHT were merged to obtain a single overall quality designation ('high', 'moderate, "low", 'very low'), based on the GRADE principle of 'downgrading'.
Results:
Merging the assessment of MVHT and RoB identified three trials of 'high quality', eight of 'moderate quality', 18 of 'low quality' and three of 'very low quality'. There was no association between a trial's MVHT and its RoB or its direction of treatment effect (P>0.05). The three 'high quality' trials were those already labelled 'reliable evidence' based on RoB, and so no change was found in meta-analysis based on best-quality evidence: a small, statistically significant, effect favouring homeopathy.
Conclusion:
Accommodating MVHT in overall quality designation of RCTs has not modified our pre-existing conclusion that the medicines prescribed in individualised homeopathy may have small, specific, treatment effects.
More Related Videos
03:05Influence of Emotional Factors on the Efficacy of Acupuncture Treatment for Overweight Complicated with Hyperlipidemia: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Published on: November 21, 2025
04:53A Clinical Trial Assessing the Safety, Efficacy, and Delivery of Olive-Oil-Based Three-Chamber Bags for Parenteral Nutrition
Published on: September 20, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Blinding
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Blind Procedures
Dosage Regimen: Individualization
What is an Experiment?
Regression Toward the Mean