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Glossary

Placebo

A treatment that has no active ingredient or intervention that is known to have no effect. Used as a tool to help blind research studies.

Glossary

Summary (bullet points)

A sham treatment. Examples include:

  • dummy tablets/pills
  • mock surgery
  • salt water injections

Classification (s)

Research term

Foundational paper (s)

Arnstein, P., Broglio, K., Wuhrman, E., & Kean, M. (2011). Use of Placebos in Pain Management. Pain Management Nursing, 12(4), 225-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2010.10.033