Modes of Hoping: Understanding Hope and Expectation in the Context of a Clinical Trial of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Chronic Pain

This article explores the role of hope in participants׳ assessments of their expectations, experiences and treatment outcomes. Data analysis focused on semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 44 participants, interviewed 3–5 times each over the course of a study evaluating Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for temporomandibular disorders (TMD), a form of chronic orofacial pain. Transcripts were coded and analyzed using qualitative and ethnographic methods. A “Modes of Hoping” (Webb, 2007)1 framework informed our analysis. Five modes of hoping emerged from participant narratives: Realistic Hope, Wishful Hope, Utopian Hope, Technoscience Hope, and Transcendent Hope. Using this framework, hope is demonstrated as exerting a profound influence over how participants assess and report their expectations. This suggests that researchers interested in measuring expectations and understanding their role in treatment outcomes should consider hope as exercising a multi-faceted and dynamic influence on participants׳ reporting of expectations and their experience and evaluation of treatment.