The Power of Communication and the Placebo Effect: IPS Symposium ‘How Can We Effectively Harness the Placebo Effect in Healthcare?’
Last Wednesday, healthcare professionals, researchers, and students gathered at the IPS symposium ‘How Can We Effectively Harness the Placebo Effect in Healthcare?’. The symposium was organized as part of the PANACEA: Education on Placebo consortium, an Erasmus+ project co-funded by the European Union, which aims to bridge the gap between scientific evidence on placebo and nocebo effects and their application in current and future clinical practice.
Mirjam Oomens discussed the impact of language and framing, Ellen Smets explained the subtle aspects of doctor-patient communication, Liesbeth van Vliet spoke about potentially harmful effects of communication in healthcare, and Andrea Evers en Stefanie Meeuwis discussed the integration of placebo and nocebo effects into clinical guidelines. The day concluded with the doctoral defense of Janine Westendorp, who defended her dissertation on supportive and harmful communication in healthcare.
The symposium provided valuable new insights for a future in which the power of communication and expectations in healthcare is utilized even more effectively.
Interested but unable to attend? Watch the speaker videos (Dutch) below.
Andrea Evers en Stefanie Meeuwis
Programma
13.00u – 13.05u | Opening
13.05u – 13.30u | Drs. Mirjam Oomens, philosopher and ex-patient about the role of language in healthcare – watch video here: Mirjam Oomens
13.30u – 13.55u | Prof. dr. Ellen Smets about patient-provider communication: informing about the future
13.55u – 14.30u | Dr. Liesbeth van Vliet about potentially harmful effects of communication in healthcare
14.30u – 14.55u | Prof. dr. Andrea Evers en Dr. Stefanie Meeuwis about clinical recommendations for the use of placebo-effects and minimalizing nocebo effects
15.00u | Afsluiting en discussie
16.00u | Promotie Janine Westendorp