Data IM research agenda

Description

The aim of the project was to bring together the various stakeholders involved in IM in the Netherlands and formulate a Integrative Medicine research agenda. The research agenda should address patient needs, align with the Netherlands’ research capacity and expertise and meet with the needs of Dutch healthcare institutions and professionals in the field of IM. A survey was developed by the Louis Bolk Institute and the key CIZG experts to gather input for the IM research agenda from a broad range of stakeholders in the IM field. The survey covered topics such as 1) participants’ familiarity with IM, 2) their attitudes towards IM, 3) facilitators, and barriers to IM implementation, 4) IM research, 5) knowledge dissemination and best practices, 6) personal experiences with IM, and 7) professional backgrounds. Invitations to participate were sent to a diverse group of stakeholders. Direct invitations were sent to a list of 95 people familiar with IM from a wide variety of organisations, collected by the Louis Bolk Institute and the key CIZG expert group. These organisations were: academic centers, professional healthcare organisations, healthcare foundations, public health organisations, mental health organisations, elderly care organisations, palliative care organisations, research institutes, schools for IM, patient organisations, student organisations, funding organisations, and healthcare companies. Snowball sampling was used through the authors networks on LinkedIn, through professional associations of complementary therapists and professional associations of IM physicians. The survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed. The survey was completed by a total of 92 respondents, 39 subjects started on the survey but did not complete it. Only completed surveys were used in the data analysis. More than half of the respondents was over 55 years old (n=50, 54%). Almost half of the respondents were healthcare professionals (n=42, 45%), of which 62% (n=26) worked as conventional care professionals and 38% (n=16) as CM professionals. About one third of respondents were patients (n=14, 15%) and researchers (n=12, 13%). Most respondents worked in healthcare (n=52), either in an organisation (n=33, 63%) or in their own independent practice (n=19, 37%). Of those working in an organisation, most worked in a hospital (39%). Most respondents have a very positive attitude towards IM (n=60, 65%), or a positive attitude (n=26, 28%), which could have been the result of the snowball sampling amongst stakeholders who were already familiar with IM. The most promising research domains in order of importance as ranked by the respondents (multiple responses were allowed) were: oncology (79%), pain management (66%) and palliative care (57%). More results can be found in the corresponding paper.

Steps to reproduce

The survey used to collect the data can be found as an attached file.

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