Survey scenarios and associated qualitative questions
| Scenario | ||
|---|---|---|
| Scenario type | Scenario number | |
| A 45-year-old man goes to his doctor because he's been having moderate stomach pains for the past month. After conducting the appropriate tests, the doctor feels confident that the problem is not serious, even though it's not clear what's causing the pain. The doctor decides to recommend a safe herbal treatment that does not contain anything likely to relieve the patient's symptoms, hoping that it might help by promoting a placebo effect. The doctor doesn't tell the patient that this is a placebo treatment, just that it's worth trying as some patients experiencing similar stomach pains get better after taking this treatment. So the patient doesn't know that the doctor is recommending a placebo treatment. The patient is told to call the doctor if he doesn't feel better after taking the medicine for 3 days. | Deception | 1 |
| A 45-year-old man goes to his doctor because he's been having moderate stomach pains for the past month. After conducting the appropriate tests, the doctor feels confident that the problem is not serious, even though it's not clear what's causing the pain. The doctor decides to recommend a safe herbal treatment. He tells the patient that this treatment does not contain any ingredients likely to relieve his symptoms, but it might help by promoting a placebo effect and that some patients experiencing similar stomach pains get better after taking this treatment. So the patient is aware that the doctor is recommending the medicine in order to bring out a placebo effect. The patient is told to call the doctor if he doesn't feel better after taking the medicine for 3 days. | Transparency | 2 |
| Question | ||
| Associated scenario type | Associated scenario number | |
| Do you think it was acceptable for the doctor to try a placebo treatment in this situation? | Deception and transparency | 1 and 2 |
| If this placebo treatment worked and the patient asked what the medicine was, do you think the doctor should tell the patient that it was a placebo? | Deception | 1 |
| If you were the patient, would you be willing to take the treatment described in this way? | Transparency | 2 |