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Research: PILKINGTON and COLLEAGUES,
Listed in Issue 197
Abstract
PILKINGTON and COLLEAGUES, Department of Herbal Medicine and Nutritional Therapy, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK. k.pilkington@westminster.ac.uk sought to compare the services and areas of expertise offered by each of the national CAM information services, to explore common challenges encountered in practice, and to establish specific objectives for the collaboration.
Background
Use of the Internet to find health information is increasing dramatically but the quality of information, particularly on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is variable. The International Collaboration on Complementary Therapy Resources (ICCR) involves collaboration between the national CAM information centres in Australia, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and a CAM information service in Germany.
Methodology
The workshop incorporated set templates for presentations, brainstorming, and analysis of notes to identify common themes.
Results
Differences and similarities between the various services were revealed. Common challenges were identified under the main themes of overall context, users and needs, content and processes. Based on these themes, it was possible to agree on a number of specific objectives.
Conclusion
The member organizations of the ICCR serve a range of different audiences and have varied remits to fulfil. For the international collaboration to be effective, it was necessary to identify common challenges and to agree on specific objectives and potential ways of working together. Progress to date is also discussed together with plans for the future.
References
Pilkington K, Gamst A, Liu I, Ostermann T, Pinto D and Richardon J. The International Collaboration on Complementary Therapy Resources (ICCR): working together to improve online CAM information. Source Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. 17(7): 647-53. Jul 2011.
