UAB Final Report of Therapeutic Touch—An Appraisal BELA SCHEIBER and C a R L a SELBY

UAB Final Report of Therapeutic Touch—An Appraisal BELA SCHEIBER and C A R L A SELBY

herapeutic touch (TT) is a mod- to discredit religious interference CSICOP-Rockies has formed the Com- ern variant of die ancient "laying demonstrates die political and sociologi- mittee for the Scientific Evaluation of on of hands." Ironically, this new cal controversy surrounding TT, not die T Therapeutic Touch (CSETT) in Boulder, version involves only incidental touching Colorado. Members include: Dale scientific content of dieir activity. while die practitioner passes her or his Beyerstein, Ph.D.; Vern Bullough, Ph.D.; When diis project was announced, it hands over the patient's body at some Saul Green, Ph.D.; Scott Replogle, M.D.; was touted as a scientific effort to distance from it in an attempt to "unruf- Wallace Sampson, M.D.; Beta Scheiber, demonstrate the efficacy of TT. As we fle" die person's energy field. While die Vice-chair; Carla Selby, Chair; Leland wrote in response to correspondents to existence of a human energy field has Shapiro, M.D. Building on the past work our July/August 1996 article (Letters to never been scientifically demonstrated, of committee members, the group's die Editor, SI, November/December practitioners talk and behave as if it is a focus will be on confronting TT claims. 1996), when we reviewed die research fact. Founder and chief promoter of TT proposal, we became fairly certain that Dolores Krieger, has said, "My only con- credible scientific results could not be cern when doing Therapeutic Touch is FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) anticipated from a research design diat the person's energy field" {Massage, request for this document after trying appeared to have been constructed January/February 1994). unsuccessfully to obtain it from die prin- merely to vindicate TT. Curiously, die Infrequent attempts have been made cipal investigator. She had refused to report does not state any clear and mean- to subject die claims of T T practitioners provide us with a copy of the report and ingful conclusion, and yet the author to some scientific rigor. None have been also informed us that she would ask the writes: "Additional research is currently as ambitious as rho.se undertaken Pentagon not to give it to us since she being conducted to assist us in arriving recendy at die University of Alabama at was writing an article for publication. at a maximal protocol for the administra- Birmingham (UAB) Burn Center. Fortunately, die Pentagon has a better tion of TT to subjects" (emphasis added). Principal Investigator Joan Turner, DSN, idea of what is appropriate with scientific Also, in die final paragraph she writes: RN, CIC, undertook the challenge by data. "Therapeutic Touch is a nursing measure proposing to study die effect of TT on Of die two pages comprising the which is non-pharmacologic and pro- pain and infection in burn patients (see final report, nearly one full page is duces no side effects. This therapy can be our article "Science or Pseudoscience? devoted to "Problems Encountered." used to decrease subjects' perception of Pentagon Grant Funds Alternative This section deals predominandy with a pain as eidier a one time or series of days Health Study" in SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, peripheral issue: ". . . publicity and intervention." None of this can be con- July/August 1996). After an eighteen- harassment by a religious group called cluded from this study. month investigation at a cost of the Watchmen. . . ." This lengdiy inclu- Also in our response, we expressed our $355,225 to taxpayers, UAB has deliv- sion of gossip within an ostensibly scien- concerns that die outcome would ered its "Tri-Service Nursing Research tific report is baffling. Proponents of TT inevitably be presented as supportive of Grant Final Report" to die Uniform must be aware of religious opposition to TT due to the open-ended, poorly Services University of die Health their activities on various grounds. Why a defined experimental design. The final Sciences, a division of die Pentagon. The substantial fraction of their research dis- report does not say how many outcomes Rocky Mountain Skeptics submitted an cussions should be devoted to an attempt were evaluated and what criteria deter-

SKEPTICAL INQUIRER M»y/June 1997 53 mined those that were included. If many tical adjustment. Otherwise, it is unclear out as a vital component of T T , we raised potential outcomes were considered, ran- why two measures of the same effect pro- the question, "What if the mimic TT dom selection alone could have produced duced different results. practitioner feels compassion for the statistical significance. The report says The original design called for 150 burn patient and accidentally performs that pain measured at day three was sig- burn patients, each randomly assigned to actual TT?" Since the human "energy nificantly reduced by TT (p=0.038). either the TT or sham group; only 131 field" (presumably manipulated by TT) What are we to conclude about any of were actually recruited. Additionally, cannot be objectively quantified, there is the other five days? Nor does it provide ". . . not all of these subjects actually no independent means to assess when any evidence that statistical adjustment remained in the study for the full six-day manipulation is occurring. The final for multiple comparisons was considered. period." Who dropped out and why? report states: "The greatest lesson While the Visual Analogue Pain What was the distribution between the learned from this process is that the Estimation Scale (VAS) showed no sta- T T and sham groups? Were the clinical inclusion of a true control group in addi- tistical difference in subjective pain per- characteristics of the dropouts from the tion to a sham and treatment group is ception between the TT and sham two groups comparable? No charts or required because a strong placebo effect groups, die results were significant when tables are included in the final report, occurs from the special attention given measured by the McGill scale, both mea- thus precluding any independent evalua- to patients in the 'sham' treatment." This sured on day one versus day six. It is pos- tion of complete data. This information observation is correct in its characteriza- sible that this inconsistency can be is crucial as it is essential to know tion of the placebo effect on patients par- attributed to random positive results for whether the experimental and control ticipating in any such experiment. No the McGill scale due, once again, to mul- groups were balanced regarding relevant practitioner or test of T T has shown that tiple comparisons without proper statis- clinical variables. For example, did one anything other than the placebo effect is group or the other not contain more taking place. The UAB study continues seriously ill patients? The inadequacy of to support this assertion. Bela Scheiber is executive director of the the report underscores a lack of under- Center for Inquiry—Rockies, and Carla (To obtain documents of the proposal standing of experimental design required Selby is associate director of the Center for and its final report refer to the following to demonstrate validity of an hypothesis. Inquiry-Rockies. Grateful acknowledg- web site: http://www.parascope.com/ ment goes to Leland Shapiro, research sci- In our article, we raised concerns articles/1196/touchl.htm. Other docu- entist at University of Colorado Health about the use of "mimic TT as a con- ments are also available at rmscentral Sciences Center. trol." Since the intention to heal is held @aol.com.) d

FRINGE-WATCHER books read as if they were efforts at sci- don't want to be observed! from page 15 ence fiction written by a ten-year-old. "All the prestige that I've got is rest- Emory University must be enor- ing on whether there is anything in experiment on us to find out how to mously embarrassed by having Brown this," Brown told the reporter. "I'd be improve our genes. He is convinced, so on its faculty. Like Harvard's problem crazy if I went public with something help me, that the Greys have been with Dr. Mack, they can't fire Brown like this without being certain about invading the sleeping minds of writers because he has tenure, and Emory's pres- what's going on. ... I'd be dead as an who produce scripts for Star Trek: The ident believes in academic freedom for academic. I couldn't even get a letter Next Generation. These writers are its teachers. (See "A Statement about published in Dear Abby." totally unaware that their clever ideas Professor Courtney Brown" by Emory It is a sad story of an intelligent, sin- are designed by the Greys to accustom president William M. Chace, in the cere man who has turned himself into a Earthlings to the reality of extraterrestri- Forum section, this issue.) The editors at gullible dunce. It will be amusing to see als eager to transform our culture. Dutton, who know that Brown's book is how he reacts a few years from now, The time is growing short. Brown pure baloney but are hoping for huge after the Martian probes find no traces urges our government to abandon its profits, should be, but probably are not, of an advanced Martian civilization. stupid policy of secrecy and openly seek deeply ashamed of their greed. contacts with the Greys and Martians. In a recent interview in the Kansas (See also the Forum column "The Court- The only earlier book about UFOs I City Star, Brown said that if NASA's ney Brown Affair and Academic Freedom" can think of that is nuttier than this one planned Martian probes fail to show evi- by Scott O. Lilienfeld, this issue.) is George Adamski's Inside the Space dence of a Martian civilization, his Ships (1955). As an abductee aboard a career in higher education will be kaput. » » » UFO, Adamski describes bustling cities The 1994 probe that vanished a few on the far side of the moon. Adamski, of days before it was to orbit the red planet The promised part 2 of Martin Gardner's course, was a charlatan, whereas Brown to take pictures, Brown is convinced, column about Koran numerology will actually believes what he writes. Both was shot down by the Martians, who appear in our next issue.

5 4 May/June 1997 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER