Contextual factors of the placebo effect in psychiatric care

Interest in studies of the use and effects of placebos in the nursing discipline has increased in the last decade. The placebo effect is the effect of the psychosocial context that accompanies any treatment and care rather than an ineffective drug or intervention administered to relax or please individuals. Contextual factors, considered as psychosocial components of nursing care, are essential for the interpretation of care perception and therapeutic interventions by both patients and healthcare professionals. Psychiatric nurses have an important role in determining placebo effects and applying therapeutic factors that contribute to the emergence of those effects in psychiatric care. The fact that psychiatric nurses provide individual-centered care by considering contextual factors such as therapeutic relationships, empathetic and compassionate communication, and the therapeutic environment increases the level of the placebo effect and impacts the therapeutic process. Nurse researchers are increasingly using usual care in their control groups rather than placebo controls in their studies since the placebo effect in care is not easy to measure. In this regard, it is important to define usual care, observe placebo effects on individuals by identifying potential problems, and include a placebo group in nursing studies. It is accordingly necessary to carry out studies on the contextual factors that increase the effects of placebos in nursing practices and psychiatric care, and to increase the awareness of nurses regarding placebo effects. Within this framework, this review was conducted to explain the issues regarding contextual factors of the placebo effect in psychiatric care and the ethical dimensions of placebo application from the perspective of psychiatric nursing.