Bridging CAM practice and research: teaching CAM practitioners about research methodology.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is continuing to provide funds directed to support research in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM providers typically have insufficient knowledge of scientific language or research methodology to develop rigorous proposals. Their ability to contribute meaningfully as advisors, teachers, or research partners in academic settings, is hence limited. To address this issue, we have developed and implemented a 7-week course designed to teach community-based CAM providers: (1) to understand scientific terminology, research design and grantsmanship; (2) to critically evaluate the research literature; and (3) to design pilot studies in areas of their interest. In this article, we describe the recruitment process for selecting course participants, the course design and instructional process and the evaluation results based on qualitative and quantitative methodology. We offer suggestions for developing training opportunities both at the local and national level that would increase the expertise of CAM providers in participating and seeking funded research.