Biomedical
Addressing the Emotional Body in Patients With Chronic Pain
Peer Reviewed
Abstract
Summary; Importance: Health care aims to reduce symptoms and improve health status, yet continuing dubious treatments can lead to complacency and suboptimal care. Objective: Investigate the potential bias in intuitive reasoning following marginal symptom improvement after dubious treatments. Design and Participants: 1,497 community members across North America 100 healthcare professionals (pharmacists) Surveys conducted in winter 2023-2024 Randomized scenarios testing treatment continuation Conclusions: Marginal symptom improvement significantly increases likelihood of continuing dubious treatments Patients and healthcare professionals are prone to post hoc reasoning Clinicians should caution patients against attributing improvement solely to a specific treatment Implications: The study reveals a systematic bias in medical decision-making that could lead to unnecessary treatments, delayed diagnoses, and increased healthcare costs.
Key Questions about Post Hoc Bias in Treatment Decisions
What is post hoc bias in medical decision-making?
Post hoc bias is the tendency to attribute symptom improvement to a treatment, even when the treatment is dubious or scientifically unsupported. The study found that people are more likely to continue a treatment after experiencing a marginal improvement in symptoms, regardless of the treatment's actual effectiveness.
How significant was the bias across different scenarios?
The study revealed substantial bias across multiple scenarios: - Antibiotics: 45% recommended continuing vs. 17% when symptoms unchanged (OR 3.98) - Sugar supplement: 83% recommended continuing vs. 17% when symptoms unchanged (OR 22.77) - Copper bracelet: 78% recommended continuing vs. 25% when symptoms unchanged (OR 16.19) - Horse shampoo: 65% recommended continuing vs. 7% when symptoms unchanged (OR 23.30)
Who was studied in this research?
The study involved 1,497 community members (mean age 38.1 years, 55.3% female) and 100 healthcare professionals (pharmacists), recruited across North America in 2023 and 2024.
What are the potential risks of post hoc bias?
Post hoc bias can lead to: - Continuing ineffective or potentially harmful treatments - Delaying diagnosis of serious underlying conditions - Encouraging unnecessary medical expenses - Creating false confidence in dubious treatments
What recommendations did the researchers make?
Clinicians should caution patients against post hoc bias and help them critically evaluate treatment effectiveness, considering alternative explanations for symptom improvement such as placebo effect, natural healing, or coincidence.
