Cochrane Collaboration CAM Field: Resource for Research

描述(由申请人提供)：Cochrane Collaboration是一个国际性、非营利性和独立的组织，致力于通过准备、维护和促进系统评估的可及性来改善世界人口的医疗保健。CAM领域是Cochrane协作中的指定小组，专注于促进Cochrane对补充和替代医学疗法进行系统审查。CAM领域由马里兰大学综合医学中心内部和赞助，自1996年成立以来，在CAM领域的联合创始人和召集人布莱恩·伯曼的领导下一直如此。在过去的四年中，通过NCCAM提供的R24赠款支持了CAM领域。CAM领域利用R24资金，通过协调准备高质量的CAM系统评价，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、从业者、非专业公众和政策制定者广泛传播关于系统评价、基于证据的CAM和Cochrane协作的信息，显著促进了NCCAM的优先事项和目标。然而，关于CAM疗法的有效性和安全性仍有许多问题需要回答，在严格收集、评估和传播CAM中的高质量信息方面仍有许多工作要完成。为了扩大CAM领域作为研究资源，我们为此次拟议的R24资金更新制定了以下四个具体目标：1)增加CAM高质量系统评价的数量；2)加强Cochrane CAM领域的推广；3)改进和增加CAM干预的随机对照试验数据库；以及4)确保CAM现场成员与Cochrane协作中其他实体成员之间的有效和高效的沟通。随着美国和全球对CAM疗法的兴趣和使用不断增加，系统评估将继续对临床医生和患者至关重要，因为他们寻求做出知情的、以证据为基础的医疗决策。自成立以来，CAM领域开展了与系统评估相关的有价值的研究，为世界医学界提供了研究资源，并在国际Cochrane协作中发挥了重要的管理作用。由于过去四年在该领域内发展的研究基础设施和全球网络，CAM领域的生产率在未来几年只会增加。

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.