Using a Delphi consensus process to develop an acupuncture treatment protocol by consensus for women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment

Smith, Caroline; Grant, Suzanne; Lyttleton, Jane; Cochrane, Suzanne

doi:10.1186/1472-6882-12-88

Cited by 40 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies have reported that it is feasible to identify a set of intervention ingredients of acupressure with a high level of agreement through the Delphi process for managing various clinical symptoms [16,17]. This study echoed previous ones in successfully formulating an acupressure protocol through expert consensus.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Acupressure for Managing Agitation in People with Dementia: Design of a Protocol Using the Delphi Technique

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Preliminary studies support the effect of acupressure in managing agitation in people with dementia (PWD). However, procedures for the selection of intervention ingredients and specifications of the implementation techniques are lacking. This lack of information hinders further studies on the effect of acupressure and its subsequent clinical uses. The aim of this study was to develop an acupressure protocol and to identify its specifications. Methods: This study employed the Delphi technique, an approach to gain consensus on intervention ingredient selection to formulate the acupressure protocol through rounds of consultation among a panel of experts. Consensus of the protocol is considered when agreements on each ingredient reach and exceed 80%. Results: We invited 6 eligible traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners into the expert panel. An acupressure protocol with 100% agreement was developed in 3 rounds of consultation. Five acupoints and seven implementation specifications were identified. Conclusions: This study identifies the key intervention ingredients of acupressure and displays their procedures. The results support the notion that identification of acupressure ingredients for managing agitation in PWD by the Delphi technique is feasible. This study also identifies some intervention implementation specifications that have not been reported earlier, although the dosage (i.e. the frequency and duration) could not be well justified by the experts based on their clinical experience and the TCM theory. The study results suggest that further studies should focus on identifying the ideal dosage to be used and subsequently examine the effect of this standardized acupressure protocol as implemented by lay caregivers in randomized controlled trials.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…The DT has also been used as a research method in many contexts, such as negotiating the clinical symptoms definition [16] and acupuncture protocol development [17]. The DT was therefore employed in this study to develop an acupressure protocol by expert consensus.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupressure for Managing Agitation in People with Dementia: Design of a Protocol Using the Delphi Technique

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Published acupuncture protocols for patients undergoing IVF vary in the points selected, the frequency and duration of treatment, and the mode of stimulation [16]. This variability further complicates the interpretation of data and hinders our understanding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This variability further complicates the interpretation of data and hinders our understanding. In 2012, an acupuncture treatment protocol was developed by a Delphi consensus process involving 28 English speaking international and national acupuncturists working in the fertility area involving women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment [16]. This protocol describes the parameters of best practice acupuncture for ART, including a protocol suitable for future research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a Delphi consensus acupuncture treatment protocol on the levels of stress and vascular tone in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization: a randomized clinical trial protocol

Zhang

Phy

Scott-Johnson

et al. 2017

BMC Complement Altern Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe variability of published acupuncture protocols for patients undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) complicates the interpretation of data and hinders our understanding of acupuncture’s impact. In 2012, an acupuncture treatment protocol developed by a Delphi consensus process was published to describe the parameters of best practice acupuncture for Assisted Reproductive Technology and future research. However, there has been no clinical trial utilizing this protocol to assess the effects of acupuncture. This study aims to assess the implementation of Dephi consensus acupuncture protocol and to examine the impact of acupuncture on stress and uterine and ovarian blood flow among women between ages 21-42 years seeking IVF.Methods/DesignThis study is a one site prospective, two-arm randomized controlled non-blind clinical trial conducted in a medical school-affiliated fertility center . Participants will be randomized 1:1 into either the acupuncture group or the standard of care (no acupuncture) group using computer generated tables.Both groups will have 3 regular clinical visits as their standard IVF care during an approximately 2 to 3 weeks window. Women who are randomized into the acupuncture group would receive three sessions based on the Delphi consensus acupuncture protocol in addition to the standard care. The first treatment will be administered between days 6 to 8 of the stimulated IVF cycle. The second session will be performed on the day of embryo transfer at least 1 h prior to the transfer. The third session will be performed within 48 h post-embryo transfer. Participants will be followed for their pregnancy test and pregnancy outcome when applicable.The outcomes stress and blood flow will be measured by a validated perceived stress scale and vasoactive molecules, respectively.DiscussionAlthough recruitment and scheduling could be challenging at times, the Delphi consensus acupuncture protocol was implemented as planned and well-accepted by the patients. Because of the time-specified sessions around patients’ IVF cycle, it is highly recommended to have on-site study acupuncturist(s) to accommodate the schedule.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials NCT02591186 registered on October 7, 2015.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1693-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

“…[12][13][14] It has also been successfully employed in a number of CHM and acupuncture studies for generating consensus in clinical practice or protocol development. [15][16][17][18][19] Ethical approval was granted in June 2011 by the University of Southampton School of Medicine ethics committee (SOMSEC094.11).…”

Section: Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing clinical practice guidelines for Chinese herbal treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome: A mixed-methods modified Delphi study

Lai¹,

Flower²,

Moore³

et al. 2015

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryObjectives: Preliminary evidence suggests Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) could be a viable treatment option for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Prior to conducting a clinical trial it is important to consider the characteristics of good clinical practice. This study aims to use professional consensus to establish good clinical practice guidelines for the CHM treatment of PCOS. Design and setting: CHM practitioners participated in a mixed-methods modified Delphi study involving three rounds of structured group communication. Round 1 involved qualitative interviews with practitioners to generate statements regarding good clinical practice. In round 2, these statements were distributed online to the same practitioners to rate their agreement using a 7-point Likert scale, where group consensus was defined as a median rating of ≥5. Statements reaching consensus were accepted for consideration onto the guideline whilst those not reaching consensus were re-distributed for consideration in round 3. Statements presented in the guidelines were graded from A (strong consensus) to D (no consensus) determined by median score and interquartile range. Results: 11 CHM practitioners in the UK were recruited. After three Delphi rounds, 91 statement items in total had been considered, of which 89 (97.8%) reached consensus and 2 (2.2%) did not. The concluding set of guidelines consists of 85 items representing key features of CHM prescribing for PCOS. Conclusions: These guidelines can be viewed as an initial framework that captures fundamental principles of good clinical practice for CHM.

show abstract

Using a Delphi consensus process to develop an acupuncture treatment protocol by consensus for women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment

Cited by 40 publications

References 13 publications

Acupressure for Managing Agitation in People with Dementia: Design of a Protocol Using the Delphi Technique

Acupressure for Managing Agitation in People with Dementia: Design of a Protocol Using the Delphi Technique

Effects of a Delphi consensus acupuncture treatment protocol on the levels of stress and vascular tone in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization: a randomized clinical trial protocol

Developing clinical practice guidelines for Chinese herbal treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome: A mixed-methods modified Delphi study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About