Factors Underlying Patient and Surgeon Willingness to Participate in a Placebo Surgery Controlled trial: A Qualitative Investigation.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors underlying willingness to participate in a hypothetical trial among patients and surgeons, to inform the design of future placebo surgery controlled trials. BACKGROUND: Placebo surgery controlled trials are the gold standard for testing the efficacy of surgical procedures. However, these trials commonly fail to meet the target sample size and terminate underpowered. METHODS: From October 2019 to July 2020, eligible patients were identified from the orthopedic waiting list at a single tertiary hospital and surgeons were identified from orthopedic clinics at three tertiary hospitals in Australia. Qualitative interviews explored factors underlying willingne..