Browse > Article

Study on the Significance of Health Services Research Methods for Studying Traditional Korean Medicine  

Park, Yu-Ri (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Seo, Sang-Rok (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Kim, Young-Jin (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Kim, Yu-Lee (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Kim, Jae-Hyo (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Ahn, Seong-Hun (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Sohn, In-Chul (Dept. of Meridian &Acupoint, College of Korean Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Acupuncture / v.27, no.2, 2010 , pp. 79-94 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objectives : Many researchers in western societies raised questions on methodological limitations of randomized controlled trial (RCT) for studying Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and they have tried to find alternatives to RCT. Some of them recently have interest in health service research as one of the alternatives. Discussing the significance of health services research in CAM studies will be helpful to guide the researchers in Korea who are also interested in developing an appropriate research methodology for traditional Korean medicine. Methods : Previous studies on methodological issues of studying CAM and health service researches published in western societies until 2009 were searched mainly from Pubmed. The definition, main research domains, and research methods of health service research and the significance of it for researches on CAM were summarized. Results & Conclusions : Health service researches are important in two aspects. First, health service researches evaluate the actual practice of CAM, including the individualized diagnosis as well as treatment and interaction between practitioners and patients. Second, when evaluating the outcomes, they put an emphasis on subjective evaluation by patients as well as objective evaluation by doctors. Thus, it can reflect the treatment goals of CAM which is improving the overall quality of life and the physical and psychological health. Therefore, health services researches such as descriptive studies, qualitative studies, outcomes studies including economic evaluation, and whole systemic research should be more utilized in order for studying traditional Korean medicine.
Keywords
health services research; research methodology; CAM; Korean medicine;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Ian D. Coulter, Raheleh Khorsan. Is health services research the holy grail of Complementary and Alternative Medicine research? Altern Ther Health Med. 2008 ; 14(4) : 40-45.
2 Lohr KN, Steinwachs DM. Health services: an evolving definition of the field. HSR. 2002 ; 37(1) : 7-9.
3 Charles D Phillips. What do you do for a living? Toward a more succinct definition of health services research. BMC Health Services Research. 2006 ; 6 : 117.   DOI
4 Leon Gordis. Epidemiology 3rd edition. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders Press. 2004.
5 Irene Lund, Jan Naslund, Thomas Lundeberg. Minimal acupuncture is not a valid placebo control in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture: a physiologist's perspective. Chinese Medicine. 2009 ; 4 : 1.   DOI   ScienceOn
6 Patricia M. Herman, Karen D'Huyvetter, M. Jane Mohler. Are health services research methods a match for CAM? Altern Ther Health Med. 2006 ; 12(3) : 78-83.
7 Tunis SR, Stryer DB, Clancy CM. Practical clinical trials: increasing the value of clinical research for decision making in clinical and health policy. JAMA. 2003 ; 290 : 1624-32.   DOI   ScienceOn
8 Richard L Nahin, Stephen E Straus. Research into complementary and alternativemedicine: problems and potentials. BMJ . 2001 ; 322 : 161-4.   DOI   ScienceOn
9 Mark R. Tonelli, Timothy C. Callahan. Why Alternative Medicine Cannot Be Evidence -based. Academic Medicine. 2001 ; 76(12) : 1213-20.   DOI   ScienceOn
10 Su Mason, Philip Tovey, Andrew F Long. Evaluating complementary medicine: methodological challenges of randomized controlled trials. BMJ. 2002 ; 325 : 832-4.   DOI   ScienceOn
11 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. What we do. Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/whatwedo/abouttechnologyappraisals/about_technology_appraisals.jsp.
12 조은주. 한의원과 의원을 이용하는 환자의 의료이용행태 비교분석. 고신대학교대학원. 2000.
13 Cheryl Ritenbaugh, Marja Verhoef, Susan Fleishman, Heather Boon, Ann Leis. Whole Systems Research: a discipline for studying Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Altern Ther Health Med. 2003 ; 9(4) : 32-6.
14 Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States, 2007. National Health Statistics Report. 2008 ; 12.
15 Lorenc A, Clarke YI, Robinson N, Blair M. How parents choose to use CAM: a systemic review of theoretical models. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2009 ; 9 : 9.   DOI   ScienceOn
16 Fouladbakhsh JM, Stommel M. Using the Behavioral Model for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The CAM Healthcare Model. Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine. 2007 ; 4(1) : 1-19.
17 Hsieh SC, Lai JN, Lee CF et al. The prescribing of Chinese herbal products in Taiwan: a cross-sectional analysis of the national health insurance reimbursement database. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. 2008 ; 17 : 609-19.   DOI   ScienceOn
18 이상무. 일부 한방병원에 내원한 요통환자의 중복의료이용에 관한 연구. 연세대학교. 2002.
19 Heather Boon, Marja Verhoef, Dennis O'Hara, Barb Findlay. From parallel practice to integrative health care: A conceptual framework. BMC Health Services Research. 2004 ; 4 : 15.   DOI   ScienceOn
20 Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL et al. Trends in Alternative Medicine use in United States, 1990-1997: Results of a Follow-up National Survey. JAMA. 1998 ; 280(18) : 1569-75.   DOI   ScienceOn
21 Sunita Vohra, Kymm Feldman, Brad Johnston, Kellie Waters, Heather Boon. Integrating CAM into academic medical centers: Experience and perceptions of nine leading centers in North America. BMC Health Services Research. 2005 ; 5 : 78.   DOI
22 Frenkel M, Ben-Arye E, Geva H, Klein A. Educating CAM practitioners about integrative medicine: An approach to overcoming the communication gap with conventional health care practitioners. J Altern Complement Med. 2007 ; 13(3) : 387-91.   DOI
23 Thomas KJ, MacPherson H, Thorpe L, Brazier J, Fitter M, Campbell MJ, et al. Randomised controlled trial of a short course of traditional acupuncture compared with usual care for persistent non-specific low back pain. BMJ. 2006 doi:10.1136/bmj.38878.907361.7C.
24 유왕근, 류경아. 한방의료의 이용행태 및 이용결정요인 분석. 대한예방한의학회지. 2000 ; 4(2) : 1-24.
25 Verhoef MJ, Vanderheyden LC, Dryden T, Mallory D, Ware MA. Evaluating complementary and alternative medicine intervention: in search of appropriate patient-centered outcome measures. BMC Complementary Altern Med. 2006 ; 6 : 38.   DOI
26 MacPherson H, Thorpe L, Thomas K. Beyond needling-therapeutic processes in acupuncture care: a qualitative study nested within a low-back trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2006 ; 12(9) : 873-80.   DOI   ScienceOn
27 Ben-Arye E, Frenkel M, Klein A, Scharf M. Attitudes toward integration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in primary care: Perspectives of patients, physicians, and complementary practitioners. Patient Educ Couns. 2008 ; 70(3) : 395-402.   DOI   ScienceOn
28 National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Expanding Horizons of Health Care: Strategic Plan. 2005-2009. Available at: http://nccam.nih.gov/about/plans/.
29 Deniston OL, Rosenstock IM. The validity of nonexperimental designs for evaluating health services. Health Serv Rep. 1973 ; 88(2) : 153-64.   DOI   ScienceOn
30 RatCliffe J, Thomas KJ, MacPherson H, Brazier J. A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture care for persistent low back pain: cost effectiveness analysis. BMJ. 2006 doi:10.1136/bmj.38932.806134.7C.
31 Stephen M. Shortell. The emergence of qualitative methods in health services research. Special Supplement on Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research, December 1999, Part II. Health Serv Res. 1999 ; 34 : 1083-90.
32 Sofaer S. Qualitative research methods: what are they and why use them? Special Supplement on Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research, December 1999, Part II. Health Serv Res. 1999 ; 34 : 1101-18.
33 Shoshanna Sofaer. Qualitative methods: what are they and why use them? Special Supplement on Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research, December 1999, Part II. Health Serv Res. 1999 ; 34 : 1101-18.
34 Robert E. Hurley. Qualitative research and the profound grasp of the obvious. Special Supplement on Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research, December 1999, Part II. Health Serv Res. 1999 ; 34 : 1119-36.
35 Paul R. Rosenbaum. Observational studies 2nd Edition. New York: Springer. 2002.
36 Martin McKee, Annie Britton, Nick Black, Klim McPherson, Colin Sanderson, Chris Bain. Interpreting the evidence: choosing between randomized and non-randomised studies. BMJ . 1993 ; 319 : 312-5.
37 John W. Creswell. Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches 3rd edition. London: SAGE. 2009.
38 Victor J. Schoenbach. Chapter 8. Analytic study design. In Understanding the fundamentals of epidemiology- an evolving text. Available at: www.epidemiology.net. Accessed October 12th 2009.
39 David A Grimes, Kenneth F Schulz. Descriptive studies: what they can and cannot do. Lancet. 2002 ; 359 : 145-9.   DOI   ScienceOn
40 Ann Bowling. Research methods in health: investigating health and health services. Berkshire: Open University Press. 2009.
41 Ragin CC. The distinctiveness of caseoriented research. Special Supplement on Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research, December 1999, Part II. Health Serv Res. 1999 ; 34 : 1137-51.
42 Elizabeth H. Bradley, Leslie A. Curry, and Kelly J. Devers. Qualitative data analysis for Health Services Research: developing taxonomy, themes, and theory. Health Serv Res. 2007 ; 42(4) : 1758-72.   DOI   ScienceOn