Placebos and antidepressants: considering the case for a trial involving temporary deception
Contact - John Hughes (Tel: 0151 794 5968; email: John.Hughes@liverpool.ac.uk)
Academic Lead(s):
Professor Christopher Dowrick
Researchers
Dr Julia Hiscock; Dr Mark Wigglesworth; Professor Tom Walley; Dr Demian Whiting; Mr John Hughes
Project Status
Ongoing (end date: 30/06/2006)
Funding
Mersey Primary Care R&D Consortium (amount £25, 455)
Aims
1. To explore whether it would be ethical to include an element of temporary deception in randomised controlled trials of antidepressant medication.
2. To explore whether it would be feasible to include an element of temporary deception in randomised controlled trials of antidepressant medication.
Method
The study will seek opinions from the following groups:
- People who have been diagnosed with at least one episode of major depression
- General practitioners
- Psychiatrists
A sample of GPs and psychiatrists will be randomly selected from lists of those registered as working within Liverpool. Those selected will be contacted by letter with an invitation to take part. Those who agree to take part will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire. Purposive samples for focus groups will be created based on the screening questionnaire responses. We will hold two focus groups for general practitioners and one for psychiatrists.
People who have experienced at least one episode of major depression will be identified through the practice records of those GPs who have agreed to participate in the study. GPs will write to suitable patients about the study and invite them to contact the research team. Those who agree to take part will complete a brief screening questionnaire. Purposive samples for focus groups and in-depth interviews will be derived from screening questionnaire responses. We will hold two focus groups for patients with experience of depression.
The focus groups and interviews will gather opinion on the key ethical and pragmatic issues arising from trials which involve temporary deception of participants. Data will be analysed using 'Framework' a manual, matrix method, which facilitates thematic and cross-case interpretation.