ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to develop a criteria catalogue serving as a guideline for authors to improve quality of Reporting Experiments in Homeopathic Basic Research (REHBaR). Main focus was in the field of biochemical and biological experiments. So far, there was no guideline for scientists and authors available, unlike criteria catalogues common in clinical research. METHODS: A Delphi Process was conducted among experts who published experimental work within the last five years in this field. The process included a total of five rounds, three rounds of adjusting and phrasing plus two consensus conferences. RESULTS: A checklist of 23 items was achieved, augmented with detailed examples how to handle each item while compiling a publication. Background, objectives and possible hypotheses are necessary to be given in the part 'introduction'. The section 'materials and methods' is the most important part, where a detailed description of chosen controls, object of investigation, experimental setup, replication, parameters, intervention, allocation, blinding, and statistical methods is mandatory. In the 'results' section sufficient details on analysed data, descriptive as well as inferential are needed. Moreover, authors should discuss their results and interpret them in the context of current evidence. REHBaR was compiled for authors when preparing their manuscripts, and to be used by scientific journals in the reviewing process. CONCLUSIONS: Reporting experiments in basic research in homeopathy is an important issue to state the quality and validity of gained results. A guideline for REHBaR seemed to be the first step to come to a commitment what information is necessary to be given in a paper. More than that, the catalogue can serve as a statement what the standards in good basic research should be.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Research/standards , Homeopathy , Publishing/standards , Delphi Technique , HumansABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Reporting experiments in basic research in homeopathy is an important issue as comprehensive description of what exactly was done is required. So far, there is no guideline for authors available, unlike criteria catalogues common in clinical research. METHODS: A Delphi Process was conducted, including a total of five rounds, three rounds of adjusting and phrasing plus two consensus conferences. European researchers who published experimental work within the last five years were involved. RESULTS: A checklist of 23 items was obtained and supplemented with detailed examples emphasizing what each item implies. Background, objectives and possible hypotheses should be given in the part 'introduction'. Special emphasis is put on the 'materials and methods' section, where a detailed description of chosen controls, object of investigation, experimental setup, replication, parameters, intervention, allocation, blinding, and statistical methods is required. The section 'results' should present sufficient details on analysed data, descriptive as well as inferential. Authors should discuss their results and give an interpretation in the context of current evidence. CONCLUSION: A guideline for Reporting Experiments in Homeopathic Basic Research (REHBaR) was compiled to be applied by authors when preparing their manuscripts, and to be used by scientific journals in the reviewing process. Furthermore the guideline is a commitment to a certain minimum quality level needed in basic research, e.g. blinding and randomisation. Feedback is encouraged on applicability, strength and limitations of the list to enable future revisions.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Research , Homeopathy , Publishing , Delphi Technique , HumansABSTRACT
When homeopathy is tested in clinical trials, understanding and appraisal is likely to be improved if published reports contain details of prescribing strategies and treatments. An international Delphi panel was convened to develop consensus guidelines for reporting homeopathic methods and treatments. The panel agreed on 28 treatment- and provider-specific items that supplement the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement items 2, 3, 4, and 19. The authors recommend these for adoption by authors and journals when reporting trials of homeopathy.
Subject(s)
Consensus , Homeopathy/standards , Phytotherapy/standards , Publishing/standards , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/standards , Delphi Technique , Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Peer Review, Research , Quality Control , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/methods , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Resumo: Introdução: Currículos médicos de graduação são extremamente carregados em seu conteúdo, tornando-se primordial a necessidade de otimizar competências essenciais. As Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais (DCN) do Curso de Graduação em Medicina preconizam uma valorização do tratamento do doente que possui muitas interfaces com a homeopatia. Apesar de ser uma especialidade médica no Brasil reconhecida desde 1980, a homeopatia ainda é pouco presente na graduação médica. Objetivo: Este estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver uma matriz de competências essenciais composta de conhecimentos e habilidades desejáveis para o ensino da homeopatia na graduação médica. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo quanti-qualitativo realizado por meio da técnica Delphi normativa, em duas rodadas, com os docentes especialistas em homeopatia do país. Na primeira rodada, aplicou-se um questionário anônimo on-line para identificar as competências (conhecimentos e habilidades) necessárias em homeopatia para os discentes de graduação em Medicina. Após a análise de conteúdo, os temas foram agrupados nessas duas categorias que retornaram para apuração na segunda rodada, em que os especialistas assinalaram o grau de concordância (escala de Likert de quatro pontos: de não relevante a muito relevante). Para a definição de consenso, adotaram-se dois critérios: índice de De Loe e uma nota de relevância adotada pelos autores com vistas a discriminar mais os graus de consenso. Resultados: Dos 14 temas/subtemas relacionados como competências/conhecimentos, consideraram-se 11 como de alto consenso, dos quais cinco foram avaliados como primordiais, pois obtiveram nota de relevância acima de 9,0 (três relacionados ao grande tema clínica homeopática; um, à teoria e técnica homeopáticas; e outro, à pesquisa homeopática). Em relação às competências/habilidades, oito das 11 foram consideradas de alto consenso, e somente duas alcançaram nota acima de 9,0, ambas relacionadas à clínica homeopática. Conclusão: O ensino da homeopatia pode contribuir para a mudança paradigmática da medicina no sentido de valorizar o doente e promover a saúde, permitindo uma atuação médica mais humanizada e centrada no doente, o que justificaria a adoção de seu ensino, inclusive obrigatório, nas faculdades de Medicina. A elaboração de uma matriz de competências do que deve ser ensinado de homeopatia aos discentes da graduação médica vem ao encontro das DCN e instrumentaliza a reflexão na elaboração de uma futura ementa.
Abstract: Introduction: Undergraduate medical curricula are overloaded with content, making the need to optimize essential skills and knowledge paramount. The National Curricular Guidelines for the medical course (DCNs) put focus on patient treatment, which involves several interfaces with homeopathy. However, despite it being recognized as a medical specialty in Brazil since 1980, homeopathy is rarely present in undergraduate medical education. Objective: To develop a collection of essential skills and knowledge for teaching homeopathy as part of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Methods: Quanti-qualitative study performed using the standard Delphi technique in two rounds with specialized homeopathy teachers from Brazil. An anonymous online questionnaire was conducted to identify the learning competences needed in homeopathy for undergraduate medical students. Following content analysis, the themes and sub-themes were grouped into the two main categories of knowledge and skills, which were returned to the specialists who rated their importance for each item using the "Four-Point Likert Scale" from not at all important to very important. For the purpose of generating a general consensus, two criteria were adopted: the "De Loe index" and a importance score. Results: There was a high degree of consensus regarding eleven of the fourteen themes/sub-themes, five of which were considered essential, with an importance score above 9.0 (three related to the general theme, Homeopathic Clinic, one to Homeopathic Theory and Method and another to Homeopathic Research). There was also a high level of consensus regarding eight of the eleven skills, but only two gained a score of above 9.0, both related to Homeopathic Clinic. Conclusion: The teaching of Homeopathy can contribute to a paradigmatic change in medicine, particularly in the sense of prioritizing the patient and promoting health, as well as allowing for a more humanized and patient-centered medical engagement. These factors would justify the adoption of its teaching, so much so it could be made mandatory across all medical study. The establishment of a "competency matrix" for homeopathy study, which ought to be taught to students of the medical field, meets the DCNs and would be instrumental in future syllabuses.
Subject(s)
Humans , Middle Aged , Competency-Based Education , Curriculum , Education, Medical/methods , Homeopathy/education , Delphi TechniqueABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Develop a criteria catalog serving as a guideline for authors to improve the quality of reporting clinical case reports in homeopathy. METHOD: An online Delphi process was initiated with a panel of 19 homeopathic experts from Europe, the USA and India. Homeopathy specific item selection took place in three rounds of adjusting. The selected items can be used as an extension of the CARE clinical case reporting guideline. RESULTS: Eight homeopathy specific 'core' items were selected from a list of 31 suggested items; (1) the clinical history from a homeopathic perspective; (2) the type of homeopathy; detailed description of the medication--(3) nomenclature, (4) manufacture, (5) galenic form+dosage; outcomes--(6) objective evidence if available, (7) occurrence homeopathic aggravation, (8) assessment possible causal attribution of changes to the homeopathic treatment. A further 4 items were recommended for consideration as optional items when case reports are used for specific, in particular educational, purposes. The 8 core items can be used, merged into 6 items, as a homeopathy specific (HOM-CASE) extension to the CARE clinical case reporting guideline items 6, 9 and 10. CONCLUSION: Use of the HOM-CASE guideline extension will contribute to transparent and accurate reporting and can significantly improve the quality and reliability of clinical case reports in homeopathy.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Research/standards , Homeopathy/standards , Medical Records/standards , Delphi Technique , Guidelines as Topic , HumansABSTRACT
Assessing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use remains difficult due to many problems, not the least of which is defining therapies and modalities that should be considered as CAM. Members of the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR) participated in a Delphi process to identify a core listing of common CAM therapies presently in use in Western countries. Lists of practitioner-based and self-administered CAM were constructed based on previous population-based surveys and ranked by ISCMR researchers by perceived level of importance. A total of 64 (49%) ISCMR members responded to the first round of the Delphi process, and 39 of these (61%) responded during the second round. There was agreement across all geographic regions (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Western Europe) for the inclusion of herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), chiropractic, naturopathy, osteopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, and massage therapy in the core practitioner-based CAM list, and for homeopathy products, herbal supplements, TCM products, naturopathic products, and nutritional products in the self-administered list. This Delphi process, along with the existing literature, has demonstrated that (1) separate lists are required to measure practitioner-based and self-administered CAM; (2) timeframes should include both ever use and recent use; (3) researchers should measure and report prevalence estimates for each individual therapy so that direct comparisons can be made across studies, time, and populations; (4) the list of CAM therapies should include a core list and additionally those therapies appropriate to the geographic region, population, and the specific research questions addressed, and (5) intended populations and samples studied should be defined by the researcher so that the generalizability of findings can be assessed. Ultimately, it is important to find out what CAM modality people are using and if they are being helped by these interventions.
Subject(s)
Complementary Therapies/statistics & numerical data , Canada , Complementary Therapies/classification , Delphi Technique , Europe , Humans , United StatesABSTRACT
When homeopathy is tested in clinical trials, understanding and appraisal is likely to be improved if published reports contain details of prescribing strategies and treatments. An international Delphi panel was convened to develop consensus guidelines for reporting homeopathic methods and treatments. The panel agreed 28 treatment- and provider-specific items that supplement the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement items 2, 3, 4 and 19. The authors recommend these for adoption by authors and journals when reporting trials of homeopathy.
Subject(s)
Consensus , Phytotherapy/standards , Publishing/standards , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/standards , Delphi Technique , Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Peer Review, Research , Quality Control , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/methods , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
When homeopathy is tested in clinical trials, understanding and appraisal are likely to be improved if published reports contain details of prescribing strategies and treatments. An international Delphi panel was convened to develop consensus guidelines for reporting homeopathic methods and treatments. The panel agreed 28 treatment- and provider-specific items that supplement the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement items 2, 3, 4 and 19. The authors recommend these for adoption by authors and journals when reporting trials of homeopathy.
Subject(s)
Homeopathy/standards , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/standards , Delphi Technique , Humans , Quality ControlABSTRACT
Delphi is a project to make high-quality cases treated with homeopathy available for study. The project encountered a number of major difficulties including small numbers of cases submitted, ethical problems and problems of analysis. The nature of these problems and possible solutions are discussed.