'Blinding' involves concealing knowledge of which trial participants received the interventions from participants themselves and other trial personnel throughout the trial. Blinding reduces bias arising from the beliefs and expectations of these groups. It is agreed that where possible, blinding should be attempted, for example by ensuring that experimental and control treatments look the same. However, there is a debate about if we should measure whether blinding has been successful, this manuscript will discuss this controversy, including the benefits and risks of measuring blinding within the randomised controlled trial.
10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.02.022
Journal article
J clin epidemiol
07/2021
135
176 - 181
Blinding, Masking, Measuring, Reporting guidelines, Trials, Clinical Trials as Topic, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Placebo Effect, Placebos, Research Design, Single-Blind Method