Placebo and Nocebo Effects:

Developing a Research Agenda



Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health,
the American Health Foundation, and
The Institute for Science and Public Policy

December 2-4, 1996

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Dr. Wayne Jonas of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Ernst Wynder of the American Health Foundation, and Dr. George L. Carlo of The Institute for Science and Public Policy are hosting a three-day conference to develop a research agenda that addresses the scientific and medical issues surrounding the placebo phenomenon. Each of the host organizations will bring to the conference an area of expertise that will facilitate a comprehensive evaluation of the placebo phenomenon.

The first day of the conference will be dedicated to presentations given by experts in the research, medical, epidemiological, legal, and regulatory disciplines that will include discussions on placebo research and how it pertains to:

· Homeopathy

· Regulatory Implications

· Surgery

· Gastrointestinal Symptoms

· Mass Hysteria

· Toxic Torts

· Psychosomatic Illness

· Health Regulations

· Risk Communication

· Public Policy

The second and third days of the conference will be devoted to drafting the research agenda. The conference attendees will meet separately based on their areas of expertise to concentrate on identifying placebo research that is needed in the scientific and medical areas. The resulting research agenda will follow rigorous scientific principles and will be subject to intensive scientific peer review. Three framing questions will be used to guide the development of this comprehensive and rigorous research program upon which research, medical, health, and policy decisions will be based. The three framing questions are as follows:

  1. What are the clinical parameters that influence placebo?
  2. What are the mechanisms/correlates that influence placebo?
  3. What are the methodological issues that influence the study of placebo?

This three-day conference will provide leading academicians and professionals an opportunity for an interdisciplinary assessment of the research necessary to better understand the causes and effects of the placebo phenomenon.


Please address inquiries to Elizabeth Estes Adams, M.P.H.
The Institute for Science and Public Policy
1711 N Street, NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC, 20036-2811
phone 202/833-9500
fax 202/833-2801
e-mail Liz@HESGroup.com






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