North American Naturopathic Medical Research Consortium

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ABSTRACT (Provided by the applicant): It has been hypothesized that naturopathic medicine has the potential to reduce disease burden and improve quality and duration of life in populations who have access to this comprehensive system of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The overarching goal of the North American Naturopathic Medical Research Consortium (NMRC) is to develop a prioritized research agenda, strategic plan, and clinical trials consortium that will evaluate the hypothesis that naturopathic medicine has the potential to reduce disease burden and improve quality and duration of life in populations who have access to this comprehensive system of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The North American NMRC will bring together research directors of the five naturopathic medicine colleges with experts in conventional medical research to form a Work Group whose mission is to develop a naturopathic medicine research agenda, strategic plan and a document for dissemination entitled - The North American Naturopathic Medical Research Agenda & Strategic Plan. The research agenda will include a prioritized and sequenced list of research questions that address fundamental health issues for the American public, along with the methods, capacities and implementation plans that will effectively respond to each research question. Consensus and support must be built over two years time for the North American Naturopathic Medical Research Agenda & Strategic Plan in order for this two-year planning process to have its intended effect on increasing research productivity in naturopathic medicine. Through an iterative process of presentation to increasingly wider scientific audiences and larger groups of stakeholders in health care, along with incorporation of critical feedback from each group, the NMRC Work Group will build consensus and collaborative partnerships for the execution of the Naturopathic Medical Research Agenda & Strategic Plan. The specific aims of this planning project are: 1) To convene naturopathic physicians/scientists and conventional research scientists to consider research issues related to naturopathic medicine that address fundamental health issues for the American public; 2) To produce and obtain consensus for a document entitled North American Naturopathic Medical Research Agenda & Strategic Plan; and 3) To increase research capacity by fostering collaborations among naturopathic medical colleges and conventional research institutions.