Question

For this essay, you will choose one of the following hypotheses discussed in the Chapter 7 reading, and then apply the S.E.A.R.C.H. method to that hypothesis. Your discussion should be in the form of a developed and well structured essay, and defend a clear thesis (is the hypothesis likely or unlikely to be true, and why?). If you use outside sources, be sure to cite your sources.

Answer 1

Homeopathy is real; extremely dilute solutions of substances that produce symptoms in a healthy person can cure those symptoms in a sick person.

The null hypothesis in this statement would be: “There’s no significant effect of homoeopathy in curing sickness.”

The alternative hypothesis in this statement would be: “There’s a significant effect of homoeopathy in curing sickness.”

Homoeopathy or homoeopathic medicines are used to cure many diseases. There are two main beliefs in homoeopathy which are:

• “Like cures like”—the notion that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people
• “Law of minimum dose”—the notion that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness. Many homeopathic products are so diluted that no molecules of the original substance remain.

In U.S., according to the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which included a comprehensive survey on the use of complementary health approaches by Americans, an estimated 5 million adults and 1 million children used homeopathy in the previous year. The 2012 survey also reported that although about 1.8 percent of children used homeopathy, only 0.2 percent of children went to a homeopathic practitioner. A 2016 analysis of data from this survey suggests that most adults who use homeopathic products self-prescribe them for colds and musculoskeletal pain.

In 2016, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it will hold efficacy and safety claims for over-the-counter homeopathic drugs to the same standard as those for other products making similar claims. It further stated that companies must have the competent and reliable scientific evidence the FTC requires for health-related claims, including claims that a product can treat specific conditions.

In December 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a new risk-based enforcement approach to homeopathic products. The proposed approach would call for more careful scrutiny of products with the greatest potential for risk, including:

• Those with reported safety concerns
• Those that are not taken by mouth or rubbed on skin
• Those for vulnerable populations
• Those that do not meet legal standards for quality, strength, or purity
• Those intended to be used for preventing or treating serious and/or life-threatening diseases and conditions.

No evidence in the effectiveness of homoeopathy:

• A 2015 comprehensive assessment of evidence by the Australian government’s National Health and Medical Research Council concluded that there is no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective for any health condition.
• Homeopathy is a controversial topic. A number of its key concepts don’t agree with fundamental scientific concepts. For example, it’s not possible to explain in scientific terms how a product containing little or no active ingredient can have any effect. This, in turn, creates major challenges to rigorous clinical investigation of such products. For example, researchers cannot confirm that an extremely dilute mixture contains what is listed on the label; nor have they been able to develop objective measures that show effects of extremely dilute products in the human body.

Another research challenge is that homeopathic treatments are highly individualized, and there is no uniform prescribing standard for homeopathic practitioners. There are hundreds of different homeopathic remedies, which can be prescribed in a variety of different dilutions for thousands of symptoms. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy

Certain homeopathic products (called “nosodes” or “homeopathic immunizations”) have been promoted by some as substitutes for conventional immunizations, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there’s no credible scientific evidence to support such claims. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for immunizations/vaccinations. To learn more about vaccines visit www.vaccines.gov.

Therefore, it can be concluded that homoeopathy has no effect in curing diseases and thus null hypothesis is accepted.

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy