A discursive exploration of public perspectives on placebos and their effects
A discursive exploration of public perspectives on placebos and their effects
There is increasing evidence that placebos could be effective in clinical practice. However, knowledge of public perspectives on placebos is underdeveloped. We conducted a discourse analysis of internet comments on news articles related to placebos, aiming to improve this knowledge for clinicians and researchers. We developed two discursive constructs of the placebo. The dominant construct of the ‘placebo pill’ informs a paradoxical understanding of placebos that closes down treatment. The less-prevalent counter-discursive construct of the ‘treatment process’ frames placebos as potentially viable within modern evidence-based medicine. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of this alternative understanding of placebos.
1-9
Hardman, Douglas, Iain
bf7ba905-0d04-4d1f-9686-f9a3a3d642db
Geraghty, Adam
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
Howick, Jeremy
0d21085b-6b93-4a4e-8d87-1cc3a83f8768
Roberts, Nia
1e596d6d-2c57-421d-b04f-0d835aa22978
Bishop, Felicity
1f5429c5-325f-4ac4-aae3-6ba85d079928
Hardman, Douglas, Iain
bf7ba905-0d04-4d1f-9686-f9a3a3d642db
Geraghty, Adam
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
Howick, Jeremy
0d21085b-6b93-4a4e-8d87-1cc3a83f8768
Roberts, Nia
1e596d6d-2c57-421d-b04f-0d835aa22978
Bishop, Felicity
1f5429c5-325f-4ac4-aae3-6ba85d079928
Hardman, Douglas, Iain, Geraghty, Adam, Howick, Jeremy, Roberts, Nia and Bishop, Felicity
(2019)
A discursive exploration of public perspectives on placebos and their effects.
Health Psychology Open, 6 (1), .
(doi:10.1177/2055102919832313).
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that placebos could be effective in clinical practice. However, knowledge of public perspectives on placebos is underdeveloped. We conducted a discourse analysis of internet comments on news articles related to placebos, aiming to improve this knowledge for clinicians and researchers. We developed two discursive constructs of the placebo. The dominant construct of the ‘placebo pill’ informs a paradoxical understanding of placebos that closes down treatment. The less-prevalent counter-discursive construct of the ‘treatment process’ frames placebos as potentially viable within modern evidence-based medicine. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of this alternative understanding of placebos.
Text
2055102919832313
- Version of Record
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 February 2019
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 428372
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/428372
ISSN: 2055-1029
PURE UUID: 41e5c8fb-42f9-4d76-9b6c-1f452c7036b8
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 22 Feb 2019 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:03
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Douglas, Iain Hardman
Author:
Jeremy Howick
Author:
Nia Roberts
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics