In: Nursing
Design your own randomized controlled trial using the steps given in chapter 8 of introduction to Epidemiology( 7edition). Suppose it is a drug study where it is appropriate to use a placebo.
Ans) Random allocation. Each of the eligible participants should
have an equal chance to be allocated the intervention or not.
- Allocation concealment: One of the key components of an RCT is
allocation concealment.
- Blinding
- Conduct
- Outcome ascertainment.
- Sample size.
- Power of a study.
- Trial phases.
- Placebos are often used in clinical trials as an inactive control so that researchers can better evaluate the true overall effect of the experimental drug treatment under study. In addition, researchers in the study would not know which patients have received active or placebo treatments.
- Placebos are used in studies in order to find out whether or
not the pharmacological effect of a drug actually includes pain
relief or whether the effects produced by the drug might be related
to psychological processes that are generically called the placebo
effect.
- A placebo can be given in the form of a pill, injection, or even
surgery. The classic example of a placebo is the sugar pill.
Placebos are given to convince patients into thinking they are
getting the real treatment.