Cochrane Collaboration CAM Field: Resource for Research

描述（由申请人提供）：科克伦协作网是一个国际性、非盈利性和独立的组织，致力于通过准备、维护和促进系统评价的可及性来改善世界人口的医疗保健。CAM领域是科克伦协作组织内的指定小组，专注于促进对补充和替代医学疗法进行科克伦系统评价。CAM领域是基于和赞助的中心整合医学在马里兰州的大学，因为它已经自1996年成立以来，在布赖恩伯曼的领导下，共同创始人和召集人的CAM领域。在过去的四年中，CAM领域一直通过NCCAM的R24赠款得到支持。CAM领域利用R24资金，通过协调CAM的高质量系统综述的准备，改进CAM系统综述的研究方法，开发CAM RCT的专业数据库，以及向CAM研究人员、从业者、非专业公众广泛传播有关系统综述、循证CAM和科克伦合作的信息，和政策制定者。然而，关于CAM治疗的有效性和安全性仍有许多问题有待回答，在CAM高质量信息的严格收集、评估和传播方面仍有许多工作要做。为了扩大CAM领域作为研究资源的作用，我们建议对R24基金进行以下四个具体目标的更新：1）增加CAM领域高质量系统评价的数量; 2）增加对科克伦CAM领域的推广; 3）改善和增加CAM干预措施随机对照试验的数据库;以及4）确保CAM领域成员与科克伦协作组织内其他实体成员之间的有效和高效沟通。由于在美国和全球范围内对CAM疗法的兴趣和利用率只会增加，因此系统性综述将继续对临床医生和患者至关重要，因为他们寻求做出明智的、基于证据的医疗保健决策。自成立以来，CAM领域进行了与系统评价相关的有价值的研究，为全球医学界提供了研究资源，并在国际科克伦合作组织中发挥了重要的管理作用。CAM领域的生产力在未来几年只会增加，由于研究基础设施和全球网络在过去四年中发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Cochrane Collaboration is an international, nonprofit, and independent organization dedicated to improving health care for the world's population by preparing, maintaining and promoting the accessibility of systematic reviews. The CAM Field is the designated group within the Cochrane Collaboration focused on facilitating the conduct of Cochrane systematic reviews of complementary and alternative medicine therapies. The CAM Field is based within and sponsored by the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland, as it has been since inception in 1996, under the leadership of Brian Berman, co- founder and Convener of the CAM Field. Over the past four years the CAM Field has been supported through an R24 grant from NCCAM. The CAM Field has used the R24 funding to significantly further the priorities and goals of NCCAM by coordinating the preparation of high quality systematic reviews of CAM, improving research methods for CAM systematic review conduct, developing a specialized database of CAM RCTs, and widely disseminating information about systematic reviews, evidence-based CAM, and the Cochrane Collaboration, to CAM researchers, practitioners, the lay public, and policy-makers. However, many questions still remain to be answered regarding the effectiveness and safety of CAM therapies and much remains to be accomplished in the rigorous collection, evaluation, and dissemination of high quality information in CAM. To expand the CAM Field as a resource for research, the following four specific aims have been developed for this proposed renewal of our R24 funding: 1) Increase the number of high quality systematic reviews in CAM; 2) Increase promotion of the Cochrane CAM Field; 3) Improve and increase the database of randomized controlled trials of CAM interventions; and 4) Ensure effective and efficient communication between CAM Field members and members of other entities within the Cochrane Collaboration. As interest in and utilization of CAM therapies is only increasing in the US and worldwide, systematic reviews will continue to be essential to clinicians and patients as they seek to make informed, evidence-based health care decisions. Since its inception, the CAM Field has conducted valuable research related to systematic reviews, has served as a research resource for the worldwide medical community, and has served an important administrative role within the international Cochrane Collaboration. The productivity of the CAM Field will only increase in the coming years, due to the research infrastructure and worldwide network developed within it over the previous four years.