Recommendations for Designing, Conducting and Reporting Observational Studies in Homeopathy
| Autor: | Susanne Ulbrich-Zürni, Harald Walach, Raj K Manchanda, Elizabeth Thompson, Michael Teut, Praveen Oberai, Roja Varanasi |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Research Report
Medical education Evidence-Based Medicine media_common.quotation_subject Clinical study design 0211 other engineering and technologies MEDLINE Homeopathy 02 engineering and technology Medical research 030205 complementary & alternative medicine External validity 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Complementary and alternative medicine Research Design 021105 building & construction Humans Quality (business) Observational study Internal validity Diffusion of Innovation Psychology media_common |
| Zdroj: | Homeopathy. 109:114-125 |
| ISSN: | 1476-4245 1475-4916 |
| DOI: | 10.1055/s-0040-1708045 |
| Popis: | Background Randomized placebo-controlled trials are considered to be the gold standard in clinical research and have the highest importance in the hierarchical system of evidence-based medicine. However, from the viewpoint of decision makers, due to lower external validity, practical results of efficacy research are often not in line with the huge investments made over decades. Method We conducted a narrative review. With a special focus on homeopathy, we give an overview on cohort, comparative cohort, case-control and cross-sectional study designs and explain guidelines and tools that help to improve the quality of observational studies, such as the STROBE Statement, RECORD, GRACE and ENCePP Guide. Results Within the conventional medical research field, two types of arguments have been employed in favor of observational studies. First, observational studies allow for a more generalizable and robust estimation of effects in clinical practice, and if cohorts are large enough, there is no over-estimation of effect sizes, as is often feared. We argue that observational research is needed to balance the current over-emphasis on internal validity at the expense of external validity. Thus, observational research can be considered an important research tool to describe “real-world” care settings and can assist with the design and inform the results of randomised controlled trails. Conclusions We present recommendations for designing, conducting and reporting observational studies in homeopathy and provide recommendations to complement the STROBE Statement for homeopathic observational studies. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|