Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24855070›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical ethics2015

Are therapeutic motivation and having one's own doctor as researcher sources of therapeutic misconception?

Scott Y H Kim, Raymond De Vries, Sonali Parnami, Renee Wilson, H Myra Kim, Samuel Frank, Robert G Holloway, Karl Kieburtz

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical ethics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Patient and Caregiver Experiences of Participating in Parkinson's Disease Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies.Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists · 2022
    Pooled it
  2. Therapeutic Misconception as a Problem of Nonmaleficence by Way of False Hope.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Scott Y H KimDepartment of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Raymond De VriesCenter for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Sonali ParnamiCenter for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Renee WilsonCenter for Human Experimental Therapeutics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA.
H Myra KimDepartment of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Samuel FrankDepartment of Neurology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Robert G HollowayDepartment of Neurology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA.
Karl KieburtzCenter for Human Experimental Therapeutics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA Department of Neurology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA.
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor · USUniversity of Rochester · USBoston University · US

Funding

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER'S RESEARCH ASSOCIATE ORGANIZATIONUL1RR024160 · NCRR · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI PEARSON, THOMAS ARTHUR · 2006 to 2011
$38.7M
Therapeutic Misconception and the Ethics of Sham Surgery Controls in PD ResearchR01NS062770 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI DE VRIES, RAYMOND G · 2009 to 2012
$1.4M
Issues in Research EthicsZIACL010541 · CLC · CLINICAL CENTER · PI KIM, SCOTT · 2015 to 2025
$0k
NCRR NIH HHS UL1 RR024160NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS062770NINDS NIH HHS R01-NS062770
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDesire for improvement in one's illness and having one's own doctor functioning as a researcher are thought to promote therapeutic misconception (TM), a phenomenon in which research subjects are said to conflate research with treatment. PURPOSE: To examine whether subjects' therapeutic motivation and own doctor functioning as researcher are associated with TM.

methodsWe interviewed 90 persons with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) enrolled or intending to enrol in sham surgery controlled neurosurgical trials, using qualitative interviews. Subjects were compared by motivation (primarily therapeutic vs primarily altruistic or dually motivated by altruistic and therapeutic motivation), and by doctor status (own doctor as site investigator vs not) on the following: understanding of purpose of study; understanding of research procedures; perception of chance of direct benefit; and recollection and perceptions concerning the risks.

results60% had primarily therapeutic motivation and 44% had their own doctor as the site investigator, but neither were generally associated with increased TM responses. Overall level of understanding of purpose and procedures of research were high. Subjects responded with generally high estimates of probability of direct benefit, but their rationales were personal and complex. The therapeutic-motivation group was more sensitive to risks. Five (5.6%) subjects provided incorrect answers to the question about purpose of research, and yet, showed excellent understanding of research procedures.

conclusionsIn persons with PD involved in sham surgery clinical trials, being primarily motivated by desire for direct benefit to one's illness or having one's own doctor as the site investigator were not associated with greater TM responses.

Indexed as

MotivationResearch SubjectsTherapeutic MisconceptionAdultAgedClinical Trials as TopicComprehensionFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedParkinson DiseaseQualitative ResearchResearch PersonnelClinical trialsDecision-makingGene Therapy/TransferPolicy Guidelines/Inst. Review Boards/Review Cttes.Research Ethics

Identifiers

PMID24855070
PMCPMC4241180
OpenAlexW2161586859

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.