Research Council For Complementary Medicine Research Articles

Yellow Card reports associated with use of natural health products in children – An exploratory analysis

Abstract of a presentation given at the Research council for complementary medicine 2015 conference (RCCM): demonstrating the value of integrative medicine, 10 September, London, UK.

A Short Guide to Peer-Reviewed, MEDLINE-Indexed Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journals

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) comprises a multitude of disciplines, for example, acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, biofeedback, herbal medicine, and homeopathic medicine. While research on CAM interventions has increased and the CAM literature has proliferated since the mid-1990s, a number of our colleagues have expressed difficulties in deciding where to publish CAM articles. In response, we created a short guide to peer-reviewed MEDLINE-indexed journals that publish CAM articles. We examined numerous English-language sources to identify titles that met our criteria, whether specific to or overlapping CAM. A few of the resources in which we found the journal titles that we included are Alternative Medicine Foundation, American Holistic Nurses Association, CINAHL/Nursing Database, Journal Citation Reports database, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Research Council for Complementary Medicine. We organized the 69 selected titles for easy use by creating 2 user-friendly tables, one listing titles in alphabetical order and one listing them in topical categories. A few examples of the topical categories are Acupuncture, CAM (general), Chinese Medicine, Herbal/Plant/Phytotherapy, Neuroscience/Psychology, Nursing/Clinical Care. Our study is the first to list general CAM journals, specialty CAM journals, and overlapping mainstream journals that are peer reviewed, in English, and indexed in MEDLINE. Our goal was to assist both authors seeking publication and mainstream journal editors who receive an overabundance of publishable articles but must recommend that authors seek publication elsewhere due to space and priority issues. Publishing in journals indexed by and included in MEDLINE (or PubMed) ensures that citations to articles will be found easily.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professional practice and safety: A consensus building workshop

The use and practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) may have potential safety issues. These may relate to practitioner competence, product quality, interactions with medication and non-compliance with conventional medicine. Safety is central to all healthcare practitioners and is an area where CAM groups should work together to achieve consensus.With many CAM professions in the UK moving towards regulation, the Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM) recognised the need for consensus between professions on the best way forward for collecting and using safety data. A 3hour consensus workshop of UK CAM professional body representatives was convened. Results highlighted the importance of, and challenges inherent in, collecting CAM safety data. The definition of safety was discussed, in particular variation in adverse effects between therapies and recognition of both practitioner and product safety issues. A range of methods of collecting safety data were suggested, with triangulation of many approaches felt to be most useful. The main problem in recording adverse event data within practice was identified as the barrier of distrust. However, three examples of safety data collection projects were cited, which were all well received by practitioners, suggesting that developing such a scheme across CAM professions is a valuable endeavour. It is important to demonstrate the benefits or ‘rewards’ of collecting such data to practitioners, rather than ‘punish’ non-collection.We suggest that new schemes are piloted with a small, local groups of practitioners, and supported by their professional organisations. Feedback from the professional bodies represented at the workshop was very positive and suggests that in the UK they are keen to move forward with the safety agenda. We would welcome comments from other countries on the safe practice of CAM.

The Ethics of Complementary Medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research presents unique problems for research ethics committees which must be considered in some detail. Applying conventional research techniques to CAM raises a number of issues which ethics committees may find challenging. CAM is widely available and this will have a substantial effect on any proposed research strategy as so many individuals will have pre-existing opinions about these treatments. Whilst many complementary therapies may eventually be ‘validated’ by appropriate clinical trial methodologies other research methods could be more appropriate in the early stages of a research strategy, particularly in view of the widespread availability in both the public and private sectors. Safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness and patient preference also need evaluation; and these cannot be adequately assessed through double blind randomised placebo controlled trials. If the research question is clear, then thoughtful and often innovative evaluative processes can be designed to answer the socially and clinically relevant issues posed by this area of medicine. There are a number of agencies and organizations available to offer advice to ethics committees in this newly emerging field of CAM research including CAM Strategy Research and Development (CAM STRAND), the Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) and the Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM).

New Section: Education, Initiatives, and Information Resources

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary MedicineVol. 9, No. 3 EditorialNew Section: Education, Initiatives, and Information ResourcesJacqueline C. WoottonJacqueline C. WoottonSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:5 Jul 2004https://doi.org/10.1089/107555303765551543AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail "New Section: Education, Initiatives, and Information Resources." , 9(3), pp. 335–336FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 9Issue 3Jun 2003 To cite this article:Jacqueline C. Wootton.New Section: Education, Initiatives, and Information Resources.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.Jun 2003.335-336.http://doi.org/10.1089/107555303765551543Published in Volume: 9 Issue 3: July 5, 2004PDF download

‘Improving patient care: Using audit in complementary medicine’ — Information pack by research council for complementary medicine

‘Improving patient care: Using audit in complementary medicine’ — Information pack by research council for complementary medicine

The west gets the point

Acupuncture is rooted in a traditional history that dates back at least 3000 years. Research has demonstrated the physiological and neurobiological basis for many of the effects of acupuncture, which has made it more acceptable for many Western physicians. This past year has seen research using single-photon-emission computerised tomography and functional magnetic reasonance imaging technology to examine the effect of body acupuncture on brain physiology. Proper research methodology is important in the evaluation of any treatment modality, and acupuncture has unique considerations when it comes to blinded prospective study. The important event of the past year was the Consensus Development Conference held by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in November 1997. The consensus panel evaluated existing clinical research and weighed the strength of the data supporting acupuncture for the treatment of various clinical conditions. The panel, after hearing presentations from experts in various areas, concluded that there is evidence that needle acupuncture treatment is effective for postoperative and chemotherapy-associated nausea and vomiting, nausea in pregnancy, and postoperative dental pain. In addition, there are several conditions for which acupuncture may be effective as an adjunct therapy, as an acceptable alternative, or as part of a comprehensive treatment programme, although there is less convincing scientific data for this. These conditions include addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, low-back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma. The data presented also suggest uses for other conditions. High-quality clinical research is needed regarding acupuncture therapy and outcomes. An unprecedented number of research grants were given this year. The NIH funded a US $1 million grant for a 3=year trial of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis. Three additional grants of US $300 000 to US $350 000 annually for 3 years were announced recently for back pain, dental pain, and depression. In the UK, the NHS Health and Technology Assessment Research and Development Programme awarded the Research Council for Complementary Medicine a 21⁄2 year grant of £130 000 to evaluate acupuncture for the management of headaches. There are several professional acupuncture societies for physicians practising acupuncture. These include the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, the British Medical Acupuncture Society, and the International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques. In the USA, the AAMA represents physicians, sets out training guidelines, and has

The pinning down of shiatsu, or what i learned from my research experience

Nicola Pooley Shiatsu College Bristol, 46 Station Road, Ashley Down, Bristol BS7 9LB, UK. I can still see the shaft of sunlight playing on the floor as I heard myself say 'I ' l l do it.' This followed a long pause during a Shiatsu Society telephone conference on research. We had found out that the Research Council for Complementary Medicine was inviting applications for a 'First Rung' research award. We all agreed that the Shiatsu Society should apply. We wanted to raise the profile of the Society and give shiatsu more credibility. The awards gave priority to first time researchers who could collaborate with an academic institution. I had last done research as an undergraduate but had support from Philip Harris, a shiatsu practitioner and social researcher from the University of Wales Institute. Originally, I wanted to do some research that proved shiatsu worked but, reluctantly, we decided doing a survey of shiatsu practitioners and clients. I thought I knew what shiatsu practitioners treated. Hadn't I been doing it for years? But what I thought I knew wasn't substantiated by research, so we submitted our proposal 'a survey of illness conditions presenting for shiatsu.' My immediate assumption, based on my own experience of health care and from treating my clients is that shiatsu is mainly used to treat stress and its associated symptoms, such as bad backs and depression. Conventional medicine is my first choice for life-threatening illness and serious physical injury. I prefer shiatsu and complementary health for my physical and emotional aches. When I broke my leg an ambulance and surgery were essential. But when my back gave out, a couple of shiatsu treatments left me pain free, a successful alternative to the 4 weeks bed rest that the doctor recommended. I would see what choices are made by shiatsu clients across the country. The first stage of the research required ten practitioners to volunteer to fill in questionnaires on their clients for 10 weeks. This provided us with guidelines on what should go in a second questionnaire to all practitioners. We soon recruited five women volunteers. We aimed for a demographic spread and so needed some male volunteers. I spent an uncomfortable week cold-calling all the male practitioners in London. I learnt that I didn't enjoy trying to persuade people to do 10 weeks worth of work in the name of research with what might be perceived as little or no reward. It didn't surprise me that women agreed more readily. Then came the hard manual work, processing all the information from the ten practitioners. Answers such as male/female were easily tallied up. Categorizing the conditions required more mental effort. For example, did 'feeling sick due to exams' come under digestive or anxiety? As we were using up to three conditions per client I put this one under both. It may have been hard work, but I enjoyed collecting all the numbers. A disappointment came when all that work and information was edited from the final report; this stage was to be treated merely as a pilot of the second stage of the research. I suppose it was similar to when one of the volunteers had written an interesting essay on one of their client's conditions and I merely recorded this as a tick under 'other'. I found it difficult to reduce people's stories into boxes. We had published our interim report and had started to prepare the second stage of the project when my personal life interfered with our plans. My mother had a serious heart attack and was in hospital. The next 3 months were spent visiting her.

Promoting Research in Complementary Medicine: The Work of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine

The Research Council for Complementary Medicine promotes and evaluates rigorous research in complementary medicine so as to encourage safe, effective practice and improved patient care. This paper des

CISCOM, the centralised information service for complementary medicine

Summary Literature review is a vital component of research. A large and growing number of databases are available for computerized literature searching in complementary medicine research. The Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM) has developed a database that aims to combine records from many of these into a single source of data. Detail is provided on the contents and scope of this database and on additional data sources.

Use of complementary therapies

EDITOR, - Peter Fisher and Adam Ward report high use of complementary therapies throughout Europe.1 The figures for the United Kingdom are based on surveys of public opinion carried out by organisations such as the Market and Opinion Research Institute and Gallup. As the authors admit, such data should be interpreted with caution. With a view to overcoming some of the shortfalls of these studies the Research Council for Complementary Medicine recently commissioned a methodological pilot study for …

Complementary therapies on the NHS: the NAHAT survey

The NAHAT survey gives an interesting overview of the use of and attitudes towards complementary therapies on the NHS. Purchasers appear to have positive attitudes towards the funding of at least some complementary therapies. However, there is a striking lack of consistency in purchasers' decisions and policies. This appears to stem from low levels of information on complementary medicine, particularly on the question of effectiveness. Factors inhibiting the use of complementary therapies on the NHS appear to be lack of proof on efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and the fear of uncontrolled demand. The study concludes: ‘ Before any rational decisions can be taken about complementary therapies, their effectiveness and appropriate uses need to be determined. A critical review of all available evidence on the effectiveness of complementary therapies needs to be undertaken by credible and independent researchers … and the findings should be widely disseminated’. Such sentiments are similar to those of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM). The RCCM is currently sponsoring a number of projects concerned with a formal systematic review of complementary medicine research. The RCCM is also actively promoting its database of published research on complementary medicine. The NAHAT study also calls for: • Additional research into complementary therapies • Evaluation of complementary therapy services currently available within the NHS • Research into the cost/benefits of complementary therapy • The development of standards for training and qualification. However, although these recommendations should be applauded, the survey as a whole must be seen as deeply flawed. This is because it fails to incorporate figures on complementary therapies as practised by orthodox health professionals as a routine part of mainstream care, surely the foundation of any effective usage of complementary therapies on the NHS.

Research Council for Complementary Medicine

Research Council for Complementary Medicine