Placebo medication regimens may help educate students about adherence issues. In this randomized trial, 23 third-year medical students took a 2-week placebo regimen mimicking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) during their medicine clerkship; 15 students served as controls. Although no effect was demonstrated from this intervention on an evaluation instrument examining attitudes and beliefs about medication nonadherence, all 23 student-subjects agreed in postintervention interviews that the experience was useful and had learning value. Representative comments from the 19 subjects who expanded their interview responses portray this intervention as an eye-opening and unique method for teaching students about medication adherence issues.
T he common cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, occurs more than 1 billion times each year in the United States. Most adults can expect to have 4 to 6 colds per year. Children often have more than 9 colds per year, especially if they attend child-care facilities, where they are exposed to other children with colds. The May 28, 2003, issue of JAMA includes an article about upper respiratory tract infections and proper use of antibiotics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.