Abstract

The impact of the surrounding social ecosystem on the wellbeing of an individual is well known. Based on this concept in the brief article we propose a novel term called the socebo effect, which may be defined as the positive impact that occurs secondary to a change in the psychological factors associated with disease, the physician, the person-physician interaction, and/or the public and its healthcare ecosystem. These social comforters act as non drug interventions that help to improve the overall health related quality of life of a given individual. The socebo construct needs to be studied objectively, in both acute and chronic disease, including diabetes and obesity.