CAM Stakeholders Bring Their Views to NCCAM Dialogue
Attendees discussed the Center's activities and priorities.
© Bob Stockfield
A rich, multifaceted conversation took place on June 20, 2007, at the "NCCAM Stakeholder Dialogue" on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
In an effort to share information and hear the opinions of the many communities interested in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), NCCAM has held previous stakeholder meetings (also called Town Hall Meetings) in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004. At this year's meeting, NCCAM invited its stakeholders to meet the Center's Acting Director, Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D.; to express their views on the Center's future activities and priorities; and to give their feedback on NCCAM's core areas of research, research training, and outreach. Representatives from the CAM community were particularly encouraged to attend.
Over 150 people registered for the Dialogue. They represented a diverse constituency: both CAM and conventional health care providers, researchers, university and professional school faculty and students, professional associations, patient advocacy groups, other health organizations, and industry groups.
Margaret A. Chesney, Ph.D., Deputy Director of NCCAM, moderated the Dialogue and invited the audience to comment on three questions:
- What are the greatest opportunities for CAM research in the next few years?
- What are the greatest challenges to conducting CAM research?
- What impact will CAM research have on trends in integrative medicine?
The following are some of the themes that emerged and reemerged.
Jack Killen, M.D. (right), and Richard Nahin, Ph.D., NCCAM, served as moderators of the "Research" session.
© Bob Stockfield
Research
Among the suggestions presented on research were the following:
- Because CAM and integrative medicine are widely used by many Americans, research to determine the effectiveness and safety of promising treatments should be given a high priority.
- NCCAM should fund more research on health promotion, disease prevention, wellness, and integrative health care. "Don't focus on what's wrong with us and how to fix it," said one participant, "but on what's right with us and how to keep enhancing it.... We are interested in optimal health, not just survival."
- Develop new research methodologies to study whole medical systems, complex combination treatments, and individualized care.
- Use the full array of existing research methods, such as observational, descriptive, longitudinal, preference, comparison, ground, best-case, qualitative, and cluster studies.
- Use practice- or community-based resources.
- Topics that deserve greater attention include the cost-effectiveness of CAM and the impact of patient-provider interactions.
- Continue support for studies on mechanism of action (how therapies work), to better understand therapies and design optimal studies.
- Develop definitions and optimal patient-centered outcome measures or measurement techniques for CAM therapies, focused on emotions, psychosocial effects, and the sense of well-being.
- Continue to pursue opportunities to explore the role of CAM in "personalized medicine" and of genetics in individuals' responses to CAM therapies.
Research Training
Among the major themes that arose concerning training CAM researchers were the following suggestions:
- Continue to support research training and career development in CAM schools and institutions, and encourage CAM research training in conventional medical schools and universities.
- Provide opportunities in research training for CAM practitioners who may not be eligible or competitive for current NCCAM/NIH funding opportunities.
- Provide support at every stage of independent research careers, through competitive fellowships and career development awards for both conventionally trained and CAM practitioner applicants.
© Bob Stockfield
Outreach
The major themes in outreach included the following suggestions:
- Increase sharing of reliable, science-based information on CAM with all stakeholders, including through NCCAM's Web site.
- Draw on and strengthen ties between NCCAM and the CAM practitioner and patient advocacy communities.
- Work to bridge cultural issues and gaps between the CAM and conventional medicine communities.
Dr. Kirschstein commented, "The participants helped fulfill a vital need for NCCAM to hear and understand the insights of the CAM community. Their perspective will inform our plans as we move forward to meet the goals of our strategic plan. It was an engaging and energizing day."
For more information on the Dialogue, visit nccam.nih.gov/dialogue/.
