Addressing barriers to the conduct and application of research in complementary and alternative medicine: a scoping review

Saravana Kumar,Yasamin Veziari,Matthew Leach

doi:10.1186/s12906-021-03371-6

Abstract

BackgroundOver the past few decades, the popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown considerably and along with it, scrutiny regarding its evidence base. While this is to be expected, and is in line with other health disciplines, research in CAM is confronted by numerous obstacles. This scoping review aims to identify and report the strategies implemented to address barriers to the conduct and application of research in CAM.MethodsThe scoping review was undertaken using the Arksey and O’Malley framework. The search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMCARE, ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, JBI and the grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened the records, following which data extraction was completed for the included studies. Descriptive synthesis was used to summarise the data.ResultsOf the 7945 records identified, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Using the oBSTACLES instrument as a framework, the included studies reported diverse strategies to address barriers to the conduct and application of research in CAM. All included studies reported the use of educational strategies and collaborative initiatives with CAM stakeholders, including targeted funding, to address a range of barriers.ConclusionsWhile the importance of addressing barriers to the conduct and application of research in CAM has been recognised, to date, much of the focus has been limited to initiatives originating from a handful of jurisdictions, for a small group of CAM disciplines, and addressing few barriers. Myriad barriers continue to persist, which will require concerted effort and collaboration across a range of CAM stakeholders and across multiple sectors. Further research can contribute to the evidence base on how best to address these barriers to promote the conduct and application of research in CAM.

Highlights

Over the past few decades, the popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown considerably and along with it, scrutiny regarding its evidence base
Over the past few decades, the original definition of evidence-based practice [2] has evolved in the “integration of the production and the application of research evidence” [3]
One study indicated that as a result of the strategy, librarians emerged as leaders in supporting understanding and use of Evidence-based medicine (EBM) resources, and facilitating the development and implementation of systems for teaching EBM content [61]. This is the first known synthesis of evidence of strategies aimed at addressing barriers to the conduct and application of research in CAM

Summary

Introduction

Over the past few decades, the popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown considerably and along with it, scrutiny regarding its evidence base While this is to be expected, and is in line with other health disciplines, research in CAM is confronted by numerous obstacles. In 2009, the National Academy of Medicine’s Roundtable Conference on Evidence-based Medicine set an ambitious goal that 90% of clinical decisions will be based on evidence by 2020 [10]; this goal has yet to be achieved [11] This is partly because barriers to evidence-based practice (EBP) uptake continue to exist in all areas of healthcare [12,13,14] including barriers to conducting research for the generation of evidence [15,16,17] as well as barriers to applying evidence into practice [13, 14]. CAM too is being subjected to similar evidence rules [24,25,26]

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