2001 Annual
Report | 2001 Introduction | 2001
Projects | 2001 Activities
2001 Annual Report:
Activities
STandards
for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA).
Promoting acupuncture research in the
UK.
STandards
for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA).
The need for better standards of reporting of controlled trials of
acupuncture is evident from the difficulties associated with their interpretation and
analysis. It is in this context that an
international group of acupuncture researchers met at Exeter University, UK, from 2nd
to 4th July 2001. Initiated by
Research Director Hugh MacPherson, this group drafted a set of recommendations for better
reporting of trials, calling them the STRICTA recommendations: STandards for Reporting
Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture.
The goal when drafting this first set of recommendations was, through
wider consensus-building, to bring on board the key journals that were publishing clinical
trials of acupuncture. To facilitate this,
the STRICTA recommendations went through a second drafting phase with journal editors and
their advisors. The guiding principle was a
commitment to achieving a broad enough set of recommendations that would cover the most
common approaches to both acupuncture and research design.
These recommendations will be published in parallel by the key
journals in the field. Participating journals are Acupuncture in Medicine, Clinical
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, Journal of
Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Acupuncture. Participating journals
will add the STRICTA recommendations to their instructions for authors. Over time, it is
hoped that the STRICTA recommendations will lead to better trial design.
Promoting
acupuncture research in the UK.
Over the years, the Foundation has made a number of contributions to
national debates and forums on complementary and alternative medicine and particularly on
acupuncture research. We contributed to HRH Prince of Wales’ initiative with the
Foundation for Integrated Medicine (FIM) and the 1997 publication of “Integrated
healthcare: a way forward for the next five years”.
Hugh MacPherson continues the involvement as a member of FIM’s research
and development strategy group and was a contributor to FIM’s position paper on
research into complementary medicine “Towards
a National Strategy”. We submitted both
written and oral evidence on acupuncture research to the House of Lords Sub-Committee on
the Science and Technology Committee for their report on complementary and alternative
medicine.
In the arena of the acupuncture profession, Hugh MacPherson is Chair of the British
Acupuncture Council’s Research Committee. In this role he has helped write a position
paper on a research strategy for the acupuncture profession. He continues to help guide
research activity that supports the development of research awareness and activity among
acupuncturists. This has led to ongoing work with the acupuncture schools and colleges,
the goal being to help each institution develop its own research agenda. We have also
contributed to the Department of Health’s recent discussion paper on developing
research infrastructure in complementary and alternative medicine.
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