Pharmacists' Attitudes to and Perceptions of Pseudoscience: How Pseudoscience Operates in Health and Social Communication.
Soc Work Public Health
; 35(5): 321-333, 2020 06 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32628068
ABSTRACT
Given the expansion of pseudoscience, there is a need to understand its mechanisms of diffusion. Our aim was to evaluate how pseudoscience operates among pharmacists. We performed 29 semi-structured interviews to assess the stance of pharmacists regarding pseudoscience. Interview data were analyzed qualitatively to seek common themes. Our results indicate that although pharmacists were broadly opposed to more extreme pseudoscientific practices, some attitudes were detected that may contribute to pseudoscience acceptance. We identified some of the processes by means of which pseudoscience boundaries with science are blurred the minimization of risk, the hierarchy of health-related pseudoscientific therapies, inappropriate utilization of the notion of "innocuousness," and the use of the placebo effect as a justification for prescription. Discursive patterns typical of pseudoscientific argumentation were also recognized, such as contradictory arguments and the sequndum quid and ad antiquitatem fallacies, which, we conclude, may contribute to a greater acceptance of pseudoscience.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Farmacêuticos
/
Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde
/
Pseudociência
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Soc Work Public Health
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE PUBLICA
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha
País de publicação:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
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ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
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EUA
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UNITED STATES
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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US
/
USA