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Commentary: creating research capacity in complementary medicine.
1Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter EX2 4NT, UK. edzard.ernst@pms.ac.uk
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
|July 12, 2005
Summary
Creating centres of excellence for complementary medicine research is effective for building capacity. This approach may be more productive than the UK government's current strategy of sponsoring research fellowships.
Area of Science:
- Complementary medicine research
- Health services research
Background:
- A House of Lords Report recommended "centres of excellence" for complementary medicine research.
- The UK government opted for nine research fellowships instead.
- The effectiveness of different research capacity-building strategies is under review.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the effectiveness of "centres of excellence" in generating research capacity for complementary medicine.
- To compare the potential productivity of "centres of excellence" versus research fellowships.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of past researcher data from a complementary medicine unit in Exeter.
- Comparative assessment of research capacity generation strategies.
Main Results:
- "Centres of excellence" have historically been effective in generating research capacity in this field.
- The Exeter unit's experience suggests this model fosters significant research growth.
Conclusions:
- "Centres of excellence" represent a viable and potentially more productive strategy for advancing complementary medicine research.
- The current UK governmental strategy may be less effective in building sustainable research capacity.