Attitudes About Complementary and Alternative Medicine Did Not Predict Outcome in a Homeopathic Proving Trial

Abstract

Objectives:

A homeopathic proving states that when a homeopathic remedy is given to a healthy person, they will experience symptomatic effects specific to that remedy. The aim of this study was to assess if attitudes about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) predicted proving outcome.

Design:

An exploratory study nested in a double blinded randomized controlled proving trial of the remedy Belladonna C30.

Subjects:

Two hundred and six (206) healthy subjects took part in the reproving trial of whom 29 (14%) proved.

Interventions:

Subjects completed the Attitudes to Alternative Medicine Scale prior to participating in the proving trial (n = 206) and after the proving trial was completed (n = 77).

Outcome measures:

The primary outcome was whether attitude to CAM predicted proving outcome.

Results:

Attitudes about CAM at baseline did not predict proving outcome (χ² = 35.34, df = 36, p = 0.50) and attitudes to CAM did not alter after taking part in the proving trial for either provers or non provers.

Conclusion:

Subjects classified as being provers in a proving trial did not have significantly different attitudes about CAM than nonprovers. The experience of proving the study remedy did not alter the prover's attitudes about CAM.