Document Detail


Assessing efficacy of complementary medicine: adding qualitative research methods to the "Gold Standard".
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  12165185     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have an important place in the assessment of the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, they address only one, limited, question, namely whether an intervention has-statistically-an effect. They do not address why the intervention works, how participants are experiencing the intervention, and/or how they give meaning to these experiences. Therefore, we argue that the addition of qualitative research methods to RCTs can greatly enhance understanding of CAM interventions. Qualitative research can assist in understanding the meaning of an intervention to patients as well as patients' beliefs about the treatment and expectations of the outcome. Qualitative research also assists in understanding the impact of the context and the process of the intervention. Finally, qualitative research is helpful in developing appropriate outcome measures for CAM interventions. Greater understanding of CAM interventions has the potential to improve health care delivery.
Authors:
Marja J Verhoef; Ann L Casebeer; Robert J Hilsden
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)     Volume:  8     ISSN:  1075-5535     ISO Abbreviation:  J Altern Complement Med     Publication Date:  2002 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2002-08-07     Completed Date:  2002-10-16     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9508124     Medline TA:  J Altern Complement Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  275-81     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. mverhoef@ucalgary.ca
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Canada
Complementary Therapies / standards*
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Health Services Research* / methods,  standards
Humans
Outcome Assessment (Health Care) / standards*
Peer Review, Health Care
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic* / methods,  standards
Reproducibility of Results
Research Design / standards*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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