Understanding Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Guide to Reading and Analysing Research in Healthcare - Softcover

The always controversial, Prof. Ernst releases new book in the field of complementary and alternative medicine research. Many in traditional medicine deny that there is evidence of the effectiveness of such treatments while many in CAM believe that effectiveness is proven by the long history of the therapies. CAM treatments have become ever more popular with the public and in a world of "patient choice" many wish to see these treatments integrated into the generally accepted "healthcare of the nation" and even provided by the NHS. CAM practitioners have not benefited from accessing research and many are not trained in research methods. This new book helps them and others in healthcare understand how research is done and how to read and evaluate the large range of international research papers in CAM that are published annually. The book enables the reader to understand research terminology and thus be able to use research in promoting the effectiveness of treatments to patients and doctors who may be sceptical. It also helps practitioners to counter unfair attacks on CAM by those who mis-use or mis-report research reports by being selective. This straightforward book will be of considerable use to all those studying aspects of healthcare in CAM, nursing and other professions allied to medicine.

Prof. Ernst gained notoriety after causing considerable controversy criticising a draft report, written by economist Christopher Smallwood, who was investigating whether alternative remedies such as acupuncture were cost-effective and should be funded more widely on the NHS. Professor Ernst has been the leading researcher into the effectiveness of CAM treatments for many years. His view is that research, properly conducted, leads to the truth about CAM treatments.