film response paper

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Chapter 2

Conducting Health Research

Health Psychology (PSYC 172)

Professor: Andrea Cook, PhD

January 9, 2020

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Placebos

• Placebo - inactive substance or condition that

has the appearance of an active treatment

• A belief in the effectiveness of a treatment

boosts the treatment’s effectiveness

• Placebo effect may account for around 35%

of treatment effects

• Placebos have been shown to lead to positive

health outcomes for many health disorders and

symptoms

– Migraine headaches, pain, depression,

anxiety, insomnia, asthma, hypertension

Research and the Placebo

• Treatments are effective when the treatment is more

effective than the placebo

• To determine if treatments are effective

– Need to directly compare treatment versus the

placebo

– Use two groups of people: one group receives

treatment and one group receives placebo

What you think about the treatment will impact its

effectiveness.

Who should you believe to decide if a treatment is likely to

be effective?

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Correlation Studies

Correlation is not causation

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Correlation Studies

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Correlation Studiies

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http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

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Correlation Studies

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http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

Correlation Studies

• Example – cholesterol – Consumed cholesterol raises blood cholesterol

– Dietary guidelines recommend low cholesterol diet

for last 50+ years without validation

– Today causal relationship completely invalidated

• The French Paradox (1991) – Serge Renaud, French researcher

– Disconnect French high saturated fat consumption

and low rates of cardiovascular disease

– Attributed to large red wine consumption

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Longitudinal Studies

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Longitudinal Studies

• Longitudinal studies draw conclusions about how

individuals change over time

– Follow the same set of participants over time

– Example - if a researcher wanted to know how

dietary choices affect health across the lifespan

• Annual diet survey over 20 years and analyze

major medical diagnoses

• Challenges – self report accuracy, other lifestyle

factors

Determining Causality

• Correlational, cross-sectional, and

longitudinal designs only examine

relationships between variables

– They do not determine causality - if one

variable directly causes another variable

Experimental Design

• Experimental designs — compare at least two

groups to be able to draw cause and effect

conclusions

– The experimental group receives treatment

– The control group does not receive treatment

• Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) — similar

to experimental studies

– Participants are randomly assigned to either a study

group or a control group

– RCTs are considered the “gold standard” of research

design

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The Hidden Side of Clinical Trials

13The hidden side of clinical trials | Sile Lane | TEDxMadrid (YouTube)

Research for Marketing Purposes

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Research for Marketing Purposes

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Heart-Healthy Oils

• Conflicting information

• Some research shows vegetable oils

promote health

• A large randomized controlled trial of

corn oil versus saturated fat showed that

the corn oil consumers were more likely

to have a heart attack and die. (Hyman, 2019)

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Heart-Healthy Oils

What are the best types of oil for your heart?

• Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats

– Plant-based, e.g., extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

– Contain Omega-3 fatty acids

What are the worst types of oil for your heart?

• Trans Fats (trans fatty acids)

– Partially hydrogenated oil

– Margarine, shortening, artificial coffee creamer

Video: How to Cook with Fats

https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/11/18/heres-

determine-healthiest-fats-cook/

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In-Class Exercise

Class #2 In-Class Exercise

Health Information

Where do you go to find health information?

How do you know if the information is valid?

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Website Information

Mental Health

• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) – www.nami.org

• APA (American Psychological Association) – www.apa.org

• NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) - www.nimh.nih.gov

Physical Health

• Mayo Clinic - www.mayoclinic.org

• NIH (National Institutes of Health) - www.nih.gov

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – www.cdc.gov

• Cochrane Review Organization - www.cochrane.org

Functional/Alternative Medicine

• Mark Hyman, MD – drhyman.com

• Kelly Brogan, MD (psychiatrist) - kellybroganmd.com

• Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac - https://chriskresser.com

• Michael Ruscio, DC - https://drruscio.com

Buyer Beware

• Catchphrases: "scientific breakthrough," "secret ingredient," or "medical

miracle"

• Conspiracy theories: "Doctors don’t want you to know about this because it

will put them out of business"

• Cure-alls: No single treatment will cure multiple conditions or treat all cancers

• Money-back guarantees: The marketer may be out of business before you

can get a refund

• "Buy now!" promotions: "Supplies are limited" or "Don’t miss this one-time

offer"

• Technical jargon: Sophisticated language that will obscure the fact that there

is no scientific backing

20https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4093414/

Be Patient

Finding “truth” is hard, if not impossible.

Theories are developed, supported, and

tested.

“Truth” sometimes changes as new

information becomes available.

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