Therapeutic discourse among nurses and physicians in controlled clinical trials.
An ethnographic field study about the informed consent process in investigational drug trials for seriously ill persons with hepatitis C suggests that nurses and physicians referred to these trials as giving treatment, even though they involved placebos. Interview data and informed consent documents contained frequent references to the term ;treatment trial' or ;treatment'. Although these findings were unexpected and not the original focus of our study, we consider them in the light of an extensive literature on the ;therapeutic misconception' that has been described among physicians and patients with AIDS and other serious illnesses. We also suggest that certain organizational and professional characteristics of nursing and medicine reinforce this tendency to refer to the trials as treatment. Implications for further research are provided.
University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. sinstone@sandiego.edu
Susan L
SL
Instone
Mary-Rose
MR
Mueller
Tari L
TL
Gilbert
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D017322:Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D032962:Consent Forms / Q000941:ethics; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics* / Q000451:nursing; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000941:ethics; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D012660:Semantics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D036302:Therapeutic Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*
D015507:Drugs, Investigational