The practitioner research and collaboration Initiative (PRACI): Updated characteristics of the world's largest...

The Practitioner Research and Collaboration Initiative (PRACI), established in 2014, recruited the largest range of complementary medicine (CM) professions in a practice-based research network (PBRN) worldwide. The ongoing success of PRACI and its ability to accurately reflect current CM practice and use requires an updated practitioner membership. This paper aims to report the demographic and practice characteristics of the recently refreshed PRACI membership.

A cross-sectional survey was administered to those currently in clinical practice within one of nine CM professions: acupuncture, Bowen therapy, Chinese herbal medicine, kinesiology, massage therapy, myotherapy, naturopathy, nutrition, and Western herbal medicine. Responders provided consent to join membership of the PRACI PBRN. The survey covered practitioner demographics, clinical identity and qualifications, clinical career and practice, and practice characteristics.

A total of 922 practitioners across all nine targeted CM professions were recruited with the majority identifying as female and reported practicing in an urban locality. Most common areas of clinical interest were general health and wellbeing, musculoskeletal health, pain management, and women's health.

The refreshed PRACI membership provides world-leading infrastructure to facilitate urgently needed research activity and capacity-building focused upon issues and challenges grounded in CM clinical practice. Such value will build upon and extend the numerous PRACI sub-studies successfully completed, and collaborations successfully undertaken to date.