The ethical appraisal of the scientific paper which is about placeobo Essay

The ethical appraisal of the scientific paper which is about placeobo uploaded - Essay Example This paper discusses one such experiment conducted on live human subjects with use of a sham acupuncture device and an inert pill (composed mostly of starch and colored blue); the objective of the experiment was to determine the placebo effects and also measure how its supposedly enhanced effects can possibly alter the course of the ailment, which was persistent arm pain (upper extremities) due to repetitive use strain injury (Kaptchuk et al. 1). Issues on ethics are examined in the way this experiment was conducted, selection of participants, how informed consent was obtained, and other related ethical issues which might adversely affect them. In terms of selection of potential participants, the study was conducted in an ethical manner as all selected participants were willing to join the study; this means participation was voluntary, and they can opt out at any time they want at any period during the study. Further, all of them were informed of the probable side effects (pain aggravation for acupuncture and dryness of the mouth, dizziness, sleepiness and restlessness for amitriptyline) and so informed consent was properly obtained all throughout the recruitment process (ibid. 2). A study physician was always assigned and present for the duration of the research study to ensure safety of subjects, such as if they ever experienced nocebo or any side effects whatsoever. Moreover, the study authors intentionally shortened the run-in period from the original four weeks to two weeks to minimize any possible harm that might result if the participants were deprived of actual treatment for longer periods. However, an ethical ques tion is always raised by the use of placebo treatments, because the sick participants were deprived of the treatments that could have cured them of the disease or at least minimized their pain or symptoms. This was actually what happened, as several participants within the