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Biofield therapies: Guidelines for reporting clinical trials
Richard Hammerschlag1, Meredith L Sprengel2, Ann L Baldwin3
1Consciousness and Healing Initiative, La Jolla, CA, USA; NOVA Institute for Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
|February 2, 2024
Summary
New guidelines, Biofield Therapies: Reporting Evidence Guidelines (BiFi REGs), enhance transparency in reporting clinical trials for biofield therapies like Reiki and Qigong. These evidence guidelines aim to improve trial replication and clinical decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Integrative and Complementary Medicine
- Clinical Trial Methodology
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Systematic reviews highlight the need for improved transparency in reporting biofield therapy trials.
- Existing reporting standards may not fully capture the nuances of integrative health practices.
- Biofield therapies, such as External Qigong, Healing Touch, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch, represent a growing area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce the Biofield Therapies: Reporting Evidence Guidelines (BiFi REGs).
- To supplement existing guidelines (e.g., CONSORT 2010) with specific considerations for biofield therapy trials.
- To enhance the quality and consistency of reporting in this field.
Main Methods:
- Development involved a core group, international expert Delphi process, and journal editor panels.
- Guidelines were refined through multiple rounds of expert consensus and feedback.
- BiFi REGs include a 15-item Intervention checklist and modifications to existing CONSORT areas.
Main Results:
- The BiFi REGs provide specific details for intervention protocols in biofield therapy trials.
- Exemplars from peer-reviewed literature are included for each reporting item.
- The guidelines offer explanations and examples to aid researchers and reviewers.
Conclusions:
- BiFi REGs are expected to expedite the peer review process for biofield therapy trials.
- The guidelines aim to facilitate successful replication of biofield therapy studies.
- Implementation of BiFi REGs can inform clinical practice decisions regarding biofield therapies.
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