Cochrane Collaboration CAM Field: Resource for Research

描述（由申请人提供）：Cochrane协作是一个国际性的、非营利性的独立组织，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卫生保健。CAM领域是Cochrane协作的指定小组，专注于促进Cochrane对补充和替代医学疗法的系统评价。CAM领域自1996年成立以来，一直由马里兰大学综合医学中心赞助，由CAM领域的联合创始人兼召集人布莱恩·伯曼领导。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基金，通过协调高质量CAM系统评价的准备工作，改进CAM系统评价的研究方法，开发CAM随机对照试验的专门数据库，并向CAM研究人员、从业人员、普通公众和政策制定者广泛传播有关系统评价、循证CAM和Cochrane协作的信息，显著推进了NCCAM的优先事项和目标。然而，关于辅助生殖疗法的有效性和安全性仍有许多问题有待回答，在严格收集、评估和传播高质量的辅助生殖信息方面仍有许多工作有待完成。为了扩大CAM领域作为研究资源，我们为R24基金的拟议更新制定了以下四个具体目标：1)增加CAM中高质量系统评价的数量；2)加大Cochrane CAM领域的推广力度；3)完善和增加辅助护理干预措施的随机对照试验数据库；4)确保CAM Field成员与Cochrane Collaboration内其他实体成员之间有效和高效的沟通。随着对辅助生殖疗法的兴趣和利用在美国和世界范围内不断增加，系统评价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、基于证据的卫生保健决策。自成立以来，CAM领域已经开展了与系统评价相关的有价值的研究，已成为全球医学界的研究资源，并在国际Cochrane协作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，因为在过去的四年里，它建立了研究基础设施和全球网络。

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.