Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Apr 2005
Reactions to treatment debriefing among the participants of a placebo controlled trial.
A significant proportion of trial participants respond to placebos for a variety of conditions. Despite the common conduct of these trials and the strong emphasis placed on informed consent, very little is known about informing participants about their individual treatment allocation at trial closure. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by exploring treatment beliefs and reactions to feedback about treatment allocation in the participants of a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT). ⋯ Our study suggests that most trial participants want to be informed about their treatment allocation and trial results. Further research is required to develop measure of hope and expectancy and to rigorously evaluate the effects of debriefing prospectively.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Apr 2005
Health insurance, neighborhood income, and emergency department usage by Utah children 1996-1998.
It is estimated that approximately half of emergency department (ED) usage in the U.S. and other developed countries is for non-urgent conditions and that this usage is related to availability, social, and economic factors. We examined pediatric ED usage in a U.S. state with respect to income, health insurance status, types of medical conditions, and whether introduction of managed care affected utilization by Medicaid children. ⋯ Usage of ED services is related to both health insurance status and income. Children lacking health insurance and Medicaid children have excessive usage for conditions which could be treated in a primary care setting. That managed care does not reduce Medicaid ED usage is consistent with findings of other studies.