MCCCD Official Course Competencies:

FON225  2004 Fall – 2012 Fall

Research in Complementary and Alternative Nutrition Therapies

1.

Define Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in health care settings. (I)

2.

Describe alternative systems of practice and nutrition therapies common to CAM. (I)

3.

Describe consumer use of CAM and health professional's CAM. (II)

4.

Identify available sources of various CAM-related publications. (II)

5.

Describe history of CAM regulation practices including funding and legislation. (III)

6.

Identify labeling requirements and manufacturing standards in CAM. (III)

7.

Locate reliable and valid research in CAM. (IV)

8.

Identify scientific research methods and apply them to CAM. (IV)

9.

Identify ethical concerns associated with CAM research. (V)

10.

Identify characteristics of CAM experimental research designs. (VI)

11.

Describe various data collection techniques common in CAM research. (VI)

12.

Describe types of CAM research methods including analysis and interpretation of CAM data. (VII)

13.

Summarize, interpret, and critique scientific reports in CAM nutrition therapy. (VIII)

14.

Apply research techniques to quality control and improvement in CAM nutrition therapies. (VIII)

15.

Describe roles and responsibilities of CAM nutrition therapy practitioners. (VIII)

MCCCD Official Course Outline:

FON225  2004 Fall – 2012 Fall

Research in Complementary and Alternative Nutrition Therapies

I. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Health Care

A. Definition of CAM

B. Alternative systems of practice

1. Traditional Chinese medicine

2. Ayurvedic medicine

3. Homeopathic medicine

4. Mind-body interventions

5. Biologically-based therapies

6. Herbal medicine

7. Manipulative body-based methods

8. Energy Therapies

C. Nutrition therapies used in CAM

1. Herbal supplementation

2. Phytochemicals

3. Functional foods

4. Therapeutic diets

5. Other

II. Consumer Use of CAM

A. Rationale for supplementation

B. Consumer motivation

1. Sales figures

2. Popular CAM products and therapies

C. Sources of information

1. Health Professionals

2. Lay Publications

a. print form

b. Internet

D. Health professionals knowledge of CAM

III. Regulation of CAM

A. Historical Perspective

1. Funding for CAM Research

2. Legislation

B. Regulatory Agencies

1. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

2. Unites States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)

3. Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

4. Other

C. Agency Regulations

1. Labeling

a. requirements

b. claims

2. Manufacturing standards

a. safety

b. recalls

IV. Research in CAM

A. Reliable and valid research in CAM

1. Prevalence

2. Availability

3. Resources

B. Scientific method description

1. Problem

a. selection

b. statement

c. justification

2. Literature review in CAM

3. Hypothesis

a. formation

b. procedures for testing used in CAM

4. Draw conclusions

5. Evaluation of data

V. Research Ethics in CAM

A. History

B. Major issues

1. Value

2. Validity

3. Justification

C. Ethicalissues in CAM health care policies

VI. Conducting Research in CAM

A. Characteristics of CAM experiments

1. Design

2. Variables

3. Control

4. Validity

a. internal

b. external

B. Data collection used in CAM research

1. Survey

2. Interview

3. Questionnaire

4. Scaling focus groups

C. Sampling

1. Purpose

2. Techniques

a. Probability

b. Nonprobability

3. Sample size

VII. Research Methods used in CAM

A. Characteristics and Terminology

B. Types

1. Quantitative

2. Qualitative

C. Epidemiological Studies in CAM

1. Cohort

2. Case-Control

D. Methods of Measurement in CAM research

E. Analysis and Interpretation of CAM data

1. Descriptive statistics

2. Inferential statistics

F. Data Presentation

VIII. Applications to Health Care Settings providing Nutrition Therapy in CAM

A. Interpret and critique scientific reports with CAM in nutrition therapy focus

1. Journal articles

2. Research examples

a. various CAM nutrition therapies

b. consumer use of nutrition therapies in CAM

c. reliable vs. on-reliable sources

d. ethical issues

e. CAM nutrition therapy research methods

B. Quality control and improvement

1. Regulation of CAM nutrition therapy practitioners

2. Certification of CAM nutrition therapy programs

C. Roles and responsibilities of CAM nutrition therapy practitioners

1. Applying CAM nutrition therapy research in practice

2. Counseling patients