Purpose & Objectives: To foster improved client care and the continued professionalization of Massage Therapy (MT), it is important that MT practitioners research utilization is more clearly understood. The purpose of the study was to explore Massage Therapists (MTs) perceptions of research and their self-reported research utilization. Specifically, to 1) describe MTs perceptions of research and their appraised self-efficacy in research literacy and capacity; 2) better understand the nature of MTs research utilization; 3) identify what practitioner characteristics are associated with research utilization.<p> Methods: Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, the study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, all (815) registered members of the Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan (MTAS) were invited to participate in a mail-out survey. In the second phase, semi-structured qualitative interviews using a critical incident framework explored the nature of practitioners use of research. Univariate and logistic regression analysis were conducted using SPSS.<p> Results: In total, 333 questionnaires were returned for a 41% response rate. MTAS members reported overall positive perceptions of research as indicated by high endorsement of its value in adding credibility to MT and by majority agreement that MT practice should be based on research. Reported self-efficacy in various research literacy and capacity skills revealed low levels of knowledge and experience. Reported reference to online research databases, reference to peer-reviewed journals, the belief that MT practice should be based on research, and working more than 20 hours per week were all predictive of research utilization. Case study participants described specific events regarding challenges and successes in utilizing research in their practices and key factors underpinning research utilization were issues of access, issues related to the practitioner, issues of the research itself, and issues of impact on care.<p> Conclusion & Implications: While members of the MTAS perceive research positively, a gap exists between research and practice. Challenges to the diffusion of research appear to be occurring at the stages of research awareness and understanding. Curriculum in MT schools should include more critical appraisal training and more research-based resources. Provincial regulatory status may be the first step to quality training and service delivery.

Purpose & Objectives: To foster improved client care and the continued professionalization of Massage Therapy (MT), it is important that MT practitioners research utilization is more clearly understood. The purpose of the study was to explore Massage Therapists (MTs) perceptions of research and their self-reported research utilization. Specifically, to 1) describe MTs perceptions of research and their appraised self-efficacy in research literacy and capacity; 2) better understand the nature of MTs research utilization; 3) identify what practitioner characteristics are associated with research utilization.<p> Methods: Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, the study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, all (815) registered members of the Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan (MTAS) were invited to participate in a mail-out survey. In the second phase, semi-structured qualitative interviews using a critical incident framework explored the nature of practitioners use of research. Univariate and logistic regression analysis were conducted using SPSS.<p> Results: In total, 333 questionnaires were returned for a 41% response rate. MTAS members reported overall positive perceptions of research as indicated by high endorsement of its value in adding credibility to MT and by majority agreement that MT practice should be based on research. Reported self-efficacy in various research literacy and capacity skills revealed low levels of knowledge and experience. Reported reference to online research databases, reference to peer-reviewed journals, the belief that MT practice should be based on research, and working more than 20 hours per week were all predictive of research utilization. Case study participants described specific events regarding challenges and successes in utilizing research in their practices and key factors underpinning research utilization were issues of access, issues related to the practitioner, issues of the research itself, and issues of impact on care.<p> Conclusion & Implications: While members of the MTAS perceive research positively, a gap exists between research and practice. Challenges to the diffusion of research appear to be occurring at the stages of research awareness and understanding. Curriculum in MT schools should include more critical appraisal training and more research-based resources. Provincial regulatory status may be the first step to quality training and service delivery.

Thesis (M.S.) in Food Science and Human Nutrition--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 43-48.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Reflexology is one of the top six complementary therapies used in the UK. Reflexologists claim that massage to specific points of the feet increases blood supply to referred or 'mapped' organs in the body. Empirical evidence to validate this claim is scarce. This three-phase RCT measured changes in haemodynamic parameters in subjects receiving reflexology treatment applied to specific areas of the foot which are thought to correspond to the heart (intervention) compared with reflexology applied to other areas on the foot which are not (control).

In this dissertation, I look to contemporary menopause management in the Southwest, United States, as an ideal case study of the 'real world' negotiation of a widespread contemporary conundrum--characterized by discourses of risk, proliferation of information and choice, chronic doubt, and personal responsibility for decision-making. While there have been previous studies of menopause in the US, this circumstantial ethnography seeks to understand contemporary menopause management in an era characterized by a massive shift in the biomedical risk discourses about menopause, the explosion of therapeutic choice in a burgeoning pluralistic health care environment, and the broad expansion of women's identities, body projects, and life priorities over the last several decades.I report on fourteen months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2007 and 2008 with menopausal women and health care providers in the southwestern US. Research components included ethnographic interviews (N=60) and focus groups (6 groups with 27 participants) with midlife women, interviews with health care providers across a range of therapeutic modalities (N=20), and observation of emerging discourses of menopause in science, media and marketing.This dissertation illustrates that contemporary menopause management is a recursive process characterized by the ongoing re-evaluation of the impact menopause is having on one's life--in context. Participants described the unfolding of the lived-experience of menopause over time--even years beyond the end of menstruation. Risk discourses are not embodied en masse but reflect the concerns most salient in women's lives. While women access various expert and lay resources, they favor personal experts--sources deemed professionally sound and personally relevant--and their own embodied knowledge. For their part, health care providers described themselves as "normalizing" menopause and practicing patient-centered care aimed at empowering women to make their own decisions about how to manage menopause. Lacking an ideal choice, women make provisional treatment decisions that resonate with their current menopausal subjectivity. Despite abundant options, menopause management is increasingly stratified, with some able to access more information resources and afford more extensive decision-support. Among women with severe symptoms, bioidentical hormone therapy--productively positioned between biomedicine and complementary/alternative medicine--has emerged as a popular harm reduction strategy.

<p>Older adults living in long-term care experience high rates of chronic pain. Concerns with pharmacologic management have spurred alternative approaches. This study examined a nurse led complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) intervention, aromatherapy hand massage. In this three group randomized control design, 118 older adult participants with chronic pain living in long-term care facilities received either eight sessions of aromatherapy hand massage, hand massage without aromatherapy or nurse presence visits administered by the nurse investigator. Chronic pain was measured before and after the intervention using the Geriatric Multidimensional Pain and Illness Inventory (GMPI) an instrument with three subscales Pain and Suffering, Life Interference and Emotional Distress and the Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) a pain intensity measure. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and repeated measures analysis of variance for mixed design were used to test the hypothesis and answer the research questions. Group membership was found to have a significant effect on the GMPI Pain and Suffering <i>F</i>(2, 110) = 5.807,<i> p</i> = .004, &eta;_p² = .096. In addition, the change in IPT scores differed within groups over time, <i>F</i>(2, 110) = 4.293, <i>p</i> = .016, &eta;_p² = .072. The results indicate aromatherapy hand massage or hand massage without aromatherapy significantly decrease chronic pain intensity compared to nurse presence visits in older adults with chronic pain. This safe, simple, but effective intervention could be taught to caregivers to improve chronic pain management in this population. </p>

Thesis (M.Tech.: Homoeopathy)-Dept. of Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, 2008. xiii, 159 leaves / The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Gymnura natalensis in the thirtieth centesimal potency on healthy volunteers and to record the signs and symptoms produced by the volunteers during the study. These signs and symptoms determined the therapeutic indications of this remedy for its prescription according to the homoeopathic Law of Similars. A further aim of this study is a proposed group analysis of a natural family of biologically unrelated sea animal remedies (Mangialavori, 2002) with the aim of highlighting themes, similarities and differences within the group.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Homoeopathy)--Durban University of Technology, 2008 / The proving substance Hemachatus haemachatus commonly known as the Rinkhals belongs to the family of Elapidae. This spitting-cobra is a local snake found only in Southern Africa. This proving tested the effects of the thirtieth centesimal (30CH) potency of venom from Hemachatus haemachatus on healthy provers. OBJECTIVES It was hypothesised that Hemachatus haemachatus 30CH would produce clearly observable signs and symptoms in healthy provers, and that the comparison of Hemachatus haemachatus to those yielding the highest numerical value and total number of rubrics on repertorisation of the proving symptoms would highlight differences and similarities between the remedy symptoms so that confusion as to the indication is eliminated. It was hypothesised that a fuller understanding of Hemachatus haemachatus and its relationship to other remedies would be gained following this comparison. METHODOLOGY A double blind, placebo controlled proving of Hemachatus haemachatus 30CH was conducted on thirty healthy volunteers who met the inclusion criteria. Six of these thirty provers randomly received placebo, with neither prover nor researcher knowing whom received placebo. Provers had a homoeopathic case history taken and a physical examination performed on them prior to commencement of the proving. The provers recorded their signs and symptoms 6 by means of a journal before, during and after administration of the remedy. On completion of the proving, the information obtained was correlated and assessed by the two researchers, De la Rouviere and Cahill. The symptoms elicited during the proving were translated into materia medica and repertory language, and a homoeopathic picture of the remedy was subsequently formulated. Data from the case histories, physical examinations and group discussions were also considered in the assessment. RESULTS During the period of investigation, provers experienced a variety of symptoms on the mental, emotional and physical spheres. On the mental emotional sphere there was a marked degree of irritability and changeability in moods as is commonly seen in many of the snake remedies. Along with this, it was noted that there were feelings of anxiety for reasons unknown, a sense of having lost something or someone close, and a desire to be left alone. There were also a great number of feelings regarding the home, where there were feelings of the home being a place of safety and wanting order in the home. On a physical level, many of the provers noted varying degrees of abdominal discomfort and headaches. Along with anxiety, provers experienced palpitations and sensations of chest restriction or constriction with shortness of breath. There were a variety of musculoskeletal symptoms ranging from painful joints in the fingers to stiffness and tightness in the neck and back. Provers noted flushes of heat and alterations of their internal thermostat. Provers experienced marked dryness of the mucus membranes and the skin, and there was also a general feeling of weakness and heaviness as well as a marked aggravation in the mornings on waking. 7 CONCLUSIONS Symptoms obtained from the proving of Hemachatus haemachatus 30CH were studied and evaluated. Those symptoms that appeared to represent the remedy picture of Hemachatus haemachatus most accurately in the researchers‟ opinion were used in the repertorisation of the remedy. The investigation supported the hypothesis that Hemachatus haemachatus 30CH would produce clearly observable signs and symptoms in healthy provers. The subsequent comparison of the proving symptoms of Hemachatus haemachatus to Lycopodium (Club moss), Sulphur, Alumina (Aluminium oxide), Sepia (Cuttle fish) and Calcarea carbonica (Carbonate of Lime) highlighted differences and similarities between these remedies and Hemachatus haemachatus. The further comparison of remedies that came up on repertorisation restricted to the plant, mineral and animal kingdoms respectively provided a further comparison of remedies, which aimed at enhancing the differentiation of Hemachatus haemachatus to other similar remedies.

Mini-dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master's Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Durban University of Technology, 2007 / The homoeopathic drug proving of Erythrina lysistemon 30CH took a form of a randomised triple–blind, placebo–controlled study. This trial was conducted at the Homoeopathic Day Clinic on the premises of Durban University of Technology. The research group consisted of 32 provers, which were recruited from amongst practicing homoeopaths, homoeopathic students (2`nd–5`th year), as well as patients of the Homoeopathic Day Clinic (DUT) and their relatives. The participation was purely on voluntary basis. Provers were randomly divided into two groups: a placebo group of 12; a proving group of 20. Each researcher supervised 8 provers. Neither the provers, nor the researchers were aware of the name or nature of the substance being proved, and whether a prover is receiving a placebo or the proving substance until the unblinding process. Provers had a homoeopathic case history taken and a physical examination performed on them before commencement of the proving to establish each individual’s baseline. Provers were required to keep journals in which they recorded their sign and symptoms: starting 7 days prior to commencing the proving, throughout the proving, as well as after administration of the remedy formulated. All the information gathered was then correlated and interpreted by the researchers i.e. four M.Tech.Hom students. Subsequent translation of the symptoms into materia medica and repertory language took place. On completion of the proving a homoeopathic picture of the remedy with III distinct affinities was established. Those affinities were then compared to the toxicology of the major chemical constituents of Erythrina lysistemon. Data was then analyzed by qualitative methods for it was not amendable to standard statistical analysis.