Teaching evidence-based medicine at complementary and alternative medicine institutions: strategies, competencies, and evaluation.

Background: As evidence-based medicine (EBM) becomes a standard in health care, it is essential that practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) become experts in searching and evaluating the research literature. In support of this goal, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) provided R25 funding to nine CAM colleges to develop individual programs focused on teaching EBM. An overarching goal of these research education grants has been to provide CAM faculty and students with the skills they need to apply a rigorous evidence-based perspective to their training and practice.

Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects: the PROMOTE study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) to reduce low back pain and improve functioning during the third trimester in pregnancy and to improve selected outcomes of labor and delivery.

Study Design: Pregnancy research on osteopathic manipulation optimizing treatment effects was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 400 women in their third trimester. Women were assigned randomly to usual care only (UCO), usual care plus OMT (OMT), or usual care plus placebo ultrasound treatment (PUT).

Evidence-based guidance for culturally sensitive assessment and interventions for perinatal depression in black american women: a synthesis of published research, 2008-2011.

Purpose: This article provides a review of published evidence-based guidance about culturally sensitive assessment and treatment intervention strategies addressing perinatal depression in black American women. Culturally sensitive approaches focus more on the woman's environment than on her race and thus may improve access to treatment for perinatal depression by increasing health literacy.

Methods: The authors abstracted evidence-based guidance from articles published between November 2005 and September 2011, including only articles specifically analyzing a discrete sample of black American women during pregnancy or within 6 months postpartum.

A randomized, controlled trial of osteopathic manipulative treatment for acute low back pain in active duty military personnel.

Objective: Acute low back pain (ALBP) may limit mobility and impose functional limitations in active duty military personnel. Although some manual therapies have been reported effective for ALBP in military personnel, there have been no published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in the military. Furthermore, current military ALBP guidelines do not specifically include OMT.

Learning outcomes from a biomedical research course for second year osteopathic medical students.

Background: A ubiquitous dilemma in medical education continues to be whether and how to integrate research competencies into the predoctoral curriculum. Understanding research concepts is imbedded in the six core competencies for physicians, but predoctoral medical education typically does not explicitly include research education. In an effort to quickly report academic research findings to the field, this is the second in a series of articles reporting the outcomes of a research education initiative at one college of osteopathic medicine.

Biomedical research competencies for osteopathic medical students.

Background: Without systematic exposure to biomedical research concepts or applications, osteopathic medical students may be generally under-prepared to efficiently consume and effectively apply research and evidence-based medicine information in patient care. The academic literature suggests that although medical residents are increasingly expected to conduct research in their post graduate training specialties, they generally have limited understanding of research concepts.With grant support from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and a grant from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) is incorporating research education in the osteopathic medical school curriculum.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment of somatic dysfunction among patients in the family practice clinic setting: a retrospective analysis.

Context: Relatively little has been published about contemporary use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in family practice.

Objective: To provide an "epidemiology" of somatic dysfunction, assessing prevalence and severity of somatic dysfunction encountered in the family practice setting, also characterizing physician use of OMT.

Design: Retrospective analysis of Outpatient Osteopathic SOAP Note Form data collected in 1998 and 1999 by 20 osteopathic medical trainee-investigators under the supervision of seven site-based osteopathic physicians.

Cost-effective osteopathic manipulative medicine: a literature review of cost-effectiveness analyses for osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Despite the value that osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) may offer to healthcare consumers in a managed care, evidence-based healthcare system, very little research has been published on the cost-effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative treatment compared with other treatment modalities. The authors searched MEDLINE and OSTMED for English-language articles published between January 1966 and June 2002 using the key terms cost-effectiveness, osteopathic medicine, workers' compensation, hospital length of stay, healthcare providers, and manipulative medicine. The authors then extended their search by reviewing the reference lists provided in the articles initially identified as relevant by these databases.

The prevalence of mental illness in prison.

Over the last decade state prisons have experienced unprecedented growth and many demographic changes. At the same time, courts are requiring states to provide mental health screening and treatment to prisoners. Findings from recent studies indicate that the prevalence of mental illness is higher in prisons than in the community, and comorbidity is common.