Abstract
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become the dominant paradigm in the development of recommendations for clinical practice guidelines, and relies on a systematic approach to clinical problem-solving by integrating the available evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. The integration of EBM into complementary medicine modalities such as homeopathy, is an important step in establishing safe and effective treatment protocols. Owing to the limited research evidence available as well as the diverse nature of practice, developing recommendations for homeopathic practitioners to date has been problematic. Asthma and allergic rhinitis are prevalent chronic atopic respiratory conditions with a high global socio-economic impact. While research has shown that homeopathic treatment offers benefit to patients with these conditions, currently no evidence-based recommendations for homeopathic practitioners have been developed. These recommendations could potentially enhance the decision-making process in a clinical setting and may form the basis for future clinical practice guidelines. The aim of this study was to develop evidence-based recommendations for homeopathic practitioners in the management of atopic respiratory conditions. A descriptive design was used and the study conducted in three phases. In Phase One, a mixed-method systematic review of the available literature relating to the topic was conducted. A segregated method for the review was used, whereby both quantitative and qualitative studies were reviewed separately to extract data, and then the findings combined in a ‘mixed-methods’ synthesis. Search terms were utilised during the selection of articles for the review, which yielded 152 447 records overall; after the removal of duplicates and assessing for eligibility, 285 articles were included in the review. Methodological quality and risk of bias was assessed independently by two reviewers, with an overall rater agreement of 79.1%. In total, 281 recommendations regarding the treatment of atopic respiratory conditions were derived from the synthesis: 45 related to homeopathic treatment, 74 to the use of herbal medicines, and 162 regarding the use of dietary changes and health supplements...
D.Tech. (Homoeopathy)