Methodologies for Effectively Assessing Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), Research Tools and Techniques

Description

Edited by Mark J langweiler & Peter W McCarthy
Hardcover book
ISBN 9781848192515

Finding the right criteria to use when judging Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is essential if it is to stand up to criticism from those concerned about the importance of evidence-based medicine. This edited volume highlights how CAM requires different research tools and techniques from conventional medicine, and examines effective methodologies for accurately assessing CAM.

Addressing a problem which is often cited as the reason for a failure to appreciate the potential in CAM approaches to patient care, experts from a wide array of CAM modalities suggest the most effective research methodology for each particular therapy and illustrate how a lack of adherence to that methodology produces a less effective assessment. Disciplines covered include Traditional Chinese Medicine, homeopathy, herbal medicine, craniosacral therapy, qigong and yoga.

Providing direction in research and the best criteria to appropriately assess each discipline, this book highlights and responds to the issues underlying research in CAM. It will be of interest to anyone involved in CAM research, in addition to CAM practitioners and students, western medical practitioners looking to include CAM in their treatments, and anyone studying research design and methodology.

About the editors:

Mark J. Langweiler, BA, DC, DAAPM, is senior Lecturer at the Welsh Institute of Chiropractic, University of South Wales, UK. Formerly editor-in-chief for Medical Paradigms, he was director of integrative medicine at a US-based oncology clinic for ten years. He is practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan with 30 years’ experience.

Peter W. McCarthy, BSc, PhD, is Professor at the Welsh Institute of Chiropractic University of South Wales, UK. A neurophysiologist by training, and with over 20 years’ experience as a chiropractic researcher and educator, he has been a medical herbalist for over 15 years. He is currently an editor for Chiropractic and Manual Therapies and on the editorial board of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Praise for Methodologies for Effectively Assessing Complementary and Alternative Medicine

“This text is dedicated to the premise that CAM can and must bring a scientific orientation to establishing and empirical basis for any CAM therapies that are integrated into contemporary medical practice. As a result of such empirical investigation, we can affirm the benefits and refine the therapeutic protocols that CAM offers.”

-from the Foreword by Kenneth A. Leight, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, Linwood, New Jersey, USA (CAM)