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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Pain. 2012 Jul 31;13(9):891–900. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2012.06.003

Table 1.

Placebo Survey measure descriptions, means, and test-retest reliability

Placebo survey
Measure Mean (SD) Test-Retest (R) VAS Anchors (0–100)
Knowledge
 Rate your knowledge of placebo for pain relief 41.47 (23.55) .531 “No knowledge of placebo for pain relief” to “Most knowledge of placebo for pain relief imaginable”
Acceptability
 How acceptable would it be if you received a placebo treatment for pain? 47.74 (34.45) .824 “Completely unacceptable” to “Completely acceptable”
 A medical practitioner to treat pain with placebo for a condition for which there are other established treatments 32.51 (29.32) .751 “Completely unacceptable” to “Completely acceptable”
 A medical practitioner to treat pain with placebo for a condition for which there are no other established treatments? 57.05 (35.65) .861 “Completely unacceptable” to “Completely acceptable”
 Placebo to be used to determine if a patient’s symptoms are “real”? 52.35 (35.45) .815 “Completely unacceptable” to “Completely acceptable”
Efficacy
 How effective would placebo be for your pain? 34.98 (22.05) .522 “Completely ineffective” to “Completely effective”
Likelihood of use among health care providers 21.22 (14.77) .577 “Never” to “Always”
Level of Positive Mood if
 You got a placebo that improved your pain 66.90 (32.24) .327 “Neutral” to “most positive imaginable”
 You got a placebo that had no effect on your pain 19.96 (26.36) .704 “Neutral” to “most positive imaginable”
 You got a placebo that made your pain worse? 13.32 (27.26) .178 “Neutral” to “most positive imaginable”
Level of Negative Mood if
 You got a placebo that improved your pain 15.72 (23.52) .175 “Neutral” to “most negative imaginable”
 You got a placebo that had no effect on your pain 50.16 (30.73) .210 “Neutral” to “most negative imaginable”
 You got a placebo that made your pain worse 74.07 (32.87) .117 “Neutral” to “most negative imaginable”
Doctor Attributions/Trust if
 You got a placebo that improved your pain 55.00 (28.69) .624 “Least Trust” to “Most trust”
 You got a placebo that had no effect on your pain 29.07 (32.39) .685 “Least Trust” to “Most trust”
 You got a placebo that made your pain worse 12.36 (19.41) .488 “Least Trust” to “Most trust”
Willingness to participate in clinical trial involving placebo for pain relief 62.99 (33.92) .628 “Completely unwilling” to “completely willing”