INTRODUCTION To minimize nocebo effects, it may be possible to employ authorized concealment, in which clinicians tell patients about the nocebo phenomenon and ask if they would prefer not to be informed about mild treatment side effects. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to understand public evaluations of authorized concealment for reducing nocebo effects. METHODS An online cross-sectional survey was completed by a demographically diverse US national community sample between June 2 and 6, 2023. Participants were 1,012 adults residing in 48 states, ages ranging from 18 to 94 (mean = 43.2), 65.4% regularly taking medication, and 66.6% reporting a chronic physical or mental health condition. After learning about nocebo effects, participants rated and estimated their likelihood of consenting to four potential methods for authorized concealment of mild side effects. The four methods were ranked for preference and ranked again with the options of (1) receiving all side-effect information and (2) having the opportunity to select among disclosure methods. RESULTS A majority of participants (86.2%) positively endorsed at least one authorized concealment method and 88.2% estimated they would consent to at least one method. Authorized concealment in which individuals learned only the most common side effects or had side-effect information available online received more positive ratings and rankings. A final ranking yielded preferences for receiving all side-effect information (30.4%) and having the opportunity to select side-effect disclosure method (31.8%). CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that many in the public could be open to authorized concealment for mild side effects when it is explained in reference to nocebo effects.

中文翻译：

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使用授权隐瞒来最大限度地减少反安慰剂副作用：美国公众态度调查。


简介 为了最大限度地减少反安慰剂效应，可以采用授权隐瞒，即临床医生告诉患者反安慰剂现象，并询问他们是否愿意不被告知轻微的治疗副作用。目的 该研究的目的是了解公众对减少反安慰剂效应的授权隐瞒的评价。方法 2023 年 6 月 2 日至 6 日期间，由人口多样化的美国全国社区样本完成了一项在线横断面调查。参与者是居住在 48 个州的 1,012 名成年人，年龄从 18 岁到 94 岁不等（平均值 = 43.2），其中 65.4% 的人定期服用药物药物治疗，66.6% 的人报告有慢性身体或精神健康状况。在了解反安慰剂效应后，参与者评估并估计了他们同意四种潜在方法来授权隐藏轻微副作用的可能性。对四种方法进行偏好排名，并再次排名，选项为（1）接收所有副作用信息和（2）有机会在披露方法中进行选择。结果 大多数参与者 (86.2%) 积极认可至少一种授权的隐藏方法，88.2% 估计他们会同意至少一种方法。在授权隐瞒中，个人仅了解最常见的副作用或在网上获得了副作用信息，获得了更积极的评级和排名。最终排名产生了接收所有副作用信息的偏好（30.4％）和有机会选择副作用披露方法（31.8％）。结论 我们的研究表明，当根据反安慰剂效应进行解释时，许多公众可能愿意接受授权隐瞒轻微副作用。