Comments on: Medical Jargon Makes You Sicker (Sort Of) http://www.doseofdigital.com/2008/12/medical-jargon-makes-you-sicker-sort-of/ Improving Healthcare Through Digital Technology -- Effectively using digital technology and social media in pharma and healthcare Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:11:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jonathan Richman http://www.doseofdigital.com/2008/12/medical-jargon-makes-you-sicker-sort-of/#comment-25 Jonathan Richman Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:54:13 +0000 http://www.doseofdigital.com/?p=48#comment-25 Haven't read the book, Bob, but an interesting corollary. You said: "Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was - so they worried more and reacted negatively!" Just to make it more confusing, check out this study that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10547166). This study had a prayer and non-prayer group. However, the difference here is that the people being prayed for were never told. In this study, the prayed for patients had a statistically significantly lower treatment course scores (a good thing). Maybe this proves the theory even more. Don't make people think they've got a worse disease than they actually do. Not surprising, I suppose. Haven’t read the book, Bob, but an interesting corollary. You said: “Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was – so they worried more and reacted negatively!”

Just to make it more confusing, check out this study that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10547166). This study had a prayer and non-prayer group. However, the difference here is that the people being prayed for were never told. In this study, the prayed for patients had a statistically significantly lower treatment course scores (a good thing).

Maybe this proves the theory even more. Don’t make people think they’ve got a worse disease than they actually do. Not surprising, I suppose.

]]> By: Jonathan Richman http://www.doseofdigital.com/2008/12/medical-jargon-makes-you-sicker-sort-of/#comment-8983 Jonathan Richman Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:54:00 +0000 http://www.doseofdigital.com/?p=48#comment-8983 Haven't read the book, Bob, but an interesting corollary. You said: "Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was - so they worried more and reacted negatively!" Just to make it more confusing, check out this study that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10547166). This study had a prayer and non-prayer group. However, the difference here is that the people being prayed for were never told. In this study, the prayed for patients had a statistically significantly lower treatment course scores (a good thing). Maybe this proves the theory even more. Don't make people think they've got a worse disease than they actually do. Not surprising, I suppose. Haven’t read the book, Bob, but an interesting corollary. You said: “Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was – so they worried more and reacted negatively!”

Just to make it more confusing, check out this study that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10547166). This study had a prayer and non-prayer group. However, the difference here is that the people being prayed for were never told. In this study, the prayed for patients had a statistically significantly lower treatment course scores (a good thing).

Maybe this proves the theory even more. Don’t make people think they’ve got a worse disease than they actually do. Not surprising, I suppose.

]]> By: Bob G http://www.doseofdigital.com/2008/12/medical-jargon-makes-you-sicker-sort-of/#comment-24 Bob G Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:10:29 +0000 http://www.doseofdigital.com/?p=48#comment-24 Great find, Jonathan. Something slightly similar I recently read in the controversial book, The God Delusion: An experiment to measure the impact of prayer on hospital complications and recovery time showed that there was no benefit to the people who were prayed for. In fact, in a leg where people were told they were being prayed for, the subjects actually significantly worsened versus the control leg. Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was - so they worried more and reacted negatively! Great find, Jonathan.

Something slightly similar I recently read in the controversial book, The God Delusion: An experiment to measure the impact of prayer on hospital complications and recovery time showed that there was no benefit to the people who were prayed for. In fact, in a leg where people were told they were being prayed for, the subjects actually significantly worsened versus the control leg. Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was – so they worried more and reacted negatively!

]]> By: Bob G http://www.doseofdigital.com/2008/12/medical-jargon-makes-you-sicker-sort-of/#comment-8982 Bob G Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:10:00 +0000 http://www.doseofdigital.com/?p=48#comment-8982 Great find, Jonathan. Something slightly similar I recently read in the controversial book, The God Delusion: An experiment to measure the impact of prayer on hospital complications and recovery time showed that there was no benefit to the people who were prayed for. In fact, in a leg where people were told they were being prayed for, the subjects actually significantly worsened versus the control leg. Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was - so they worried more and reacted negatively! Great find, Jonathan.

Something slightly similar I recently read in the controversial book, The God Delusion: An experiment to measure the impact of prayer on hospital complications and recovery time showed that there was no benefit to the people who were prayed for. In fact, in a leg where people were told they were being prayed for, the subjects actually significantly worsened versus the control leg. Some suggest that these people thought that maybe there condition was a lot worse than they thought it was – so they worried more and reacted negatively!

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