Establishing an international research collaborative for naturopathy: The International Research Consortium of Naturopathic Academic Clinics (IRCNAC)

Abstract

5 Naturopathy is a system of healthcare through which practitioners apply core philosophies, theories 6 and principles to integrate medical knowledge with natural treatment options. In recent years the 7 naturopathic community has developed a stronger international coherence. Alongside this growing 8 connectivity in the global naturopathic profession, there have been a number of calls for more 9 systematic research attention to be devoted to naturopathy as a substantive research topic, as well 10 as a need for the naturopathic profession to hone a culture of research and evidence-based 11 practices and skillsets. Progress in this area has been made through the development of more 12 pragmatic and whole systems naturopathic research. One aspect which is currently missing in the 13 global naturopathic research landscape despite this growing pattern of practice-based, whole 14 systems research is the application of international multicentre research projects. In response, we 15 have established a research consortium for naturopathic academic clinics in four countries and 16 across multiple world regions. This paper serves to overview the mission, scope and membership of 17 the research consortium and explore some of the research designs and questions which it may 18 support. 19 20

The State of the Evidence for Whole-System, Multi-Modality Naturopathic Medicine: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…This need has recently led to development of a research consortium of naturopathic academic clinics in four countries and across multiple world regions to develop robust, international, multicenter collaboration. 60 This consortium has been endorsed by the World Naturopathic Federation, with the goal to significantly increase the amount and quality of global naturopathic whole-system research.…”

Naturopathic approaches to irritable bowel syndrome: protocol for a prospective observational study in academic teaching clinics

“…The participating naturopathic academic teaching clinics will be selected from a recently established International Research Consortium of Naturopathic Academic Clinics. 14 Clinic name, location, size, and parent academic institution of participating sites are listed in Table 1 . The treating clinicians will be naturopathic students providing care to ambulatory patients within a clinical setting associated with an academic institution and supervised by a qualified naturopath.…”

The Early Movement for Research Evidence in Modern Naturopathy: Fighting Above Its Weight Class

“…Steel and others have helped lead efforts that have created the beginnings of a global network of naturopathic academic institutions to jointly engage research. 19 20 The Australian natural products firm Blackmores has announced the profession's single largest grant of $10 million to endow a naturopathic research center. 21 And one sign of the ARCCIM team's significant involvement with global health was the publication of a widely covered systematic review on the use of traditional medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.…”