Table 3.
Acceptability of offering placebo treatments in different scenarios*
| Treatment scenarios | % of participants (95% CI) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definitely yes | Probably yes | Probably not | Definitely not | |
| Acceptable for doctors to try placebo treatments for stomach pain when patients do not know doctors are recommending a placebo treatment? (Scenario 1, version 1) (n=427) | 30.9 (26.5 to 35.3) | 40.0 (35.4 to 44.7) | 8.9 (6.2 to 11.6) | 20.1 (16.3 to 24.0) |
| Acceptable for doctors to try a placebo treatment for stomach pain when patients are aware that doctors are recommending a placebo treatment? (Scenario 1, version 2) (n=419) | 41.1 (36.3 to 45.8) | 37.5 (32.8 to 42.1) | 8.1 (5.5 to 10.7) | 13.4 (10.1 to 16.6) |
| Acceptable for doctors to give patients placebo treatment for cold symptoms if patients are told that they are getting medicine that is safe, has no side effects, and helps some people get better when they take it? (Scenario 2) | 36.6 (33.3 to 39.80) | 29.0 (25.9 to 32.0) | 9.70 (7.7 to 11.7) | 24.7 (21.8 to 27.6) |
| Acceptable for doctors to recommend antibiotics for patients who want them to treat cold symptoms that are likely to be caused by a viral infection? (Scenario 3) | 2.7 (1.6 to 3.8) | 5.2 (3.7 to 6.7) | 11.1 (9.0 to 13.2) | 81.0 (78.3 to 83.6) |
| Acceptable for doctors to give patients placebo pills for abdominal pain if patients are told they are getting placebo medicine to produce relief through mind-body self healing processes? (Scenario 3) | 57.6 (54.2 to 60.9) | 27.3 (24.3 to 30.4) | 7.3 (5.5 to 9.0) | 7.8 (6.0 to 9.7) |
*See box for detailed scenarios.