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rootofallworlds t1_jduxppr wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in In a double blind study, who knows which person gets what? by dkppkd

This doesn't seem right, not in all cases anyway.

In most clinical trials the patient knows that it's a clinical trial, what condition is being treated, and that they will be randomly given either the treatment or a placebo. It would be unethical for the participants to not know that.

You seem to be thinking of psychology studies, where it is commonplace to tell subjects and workers a study is about one thing when really it's about another.

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ZZ9ZA t1_jdykcq0 wrote

It’s not always a placebo, either. It’s my understanding that in testing of things like pain killers the control is often something like a benzodiazepine just because the patient understands that they are likely to feel relaxed/sleepy and a true placebo would essentially unblind the study.

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