equipoise equipoise
An ethical reason for doing research when researchers do not know if one treatment is better than another for a disease or condition.
Example of equipoise in a sentence
When study treatments are given in a randomized clinical trial there is equipoise because researchers have real questions about whether one is better than another.
More Info
Equipoise is important in any study that compares one treatment or intervention with another. Research is ethical if there is genuine uncertainty about which treatment or intervention is better.
If there is good evidence that one treatment is better than another, it would be wrong for researchers to give the less effective one. Equipoise means all treatments in the study are reasonable choices based on what is known.
Other info to think about when joining a study
You could see the word “equipoise” in the study description or when learning about clinical research more generally.
Equipoise is when there is a real question about whether one study treatment is better than another. It is required for study teams to conduct ethical research.
You can talk to the study team about why they are studying a certain treatment and why they set up the study in the way they did.
