Osteopathy research priorities

The aims of the project were

• to identify research priorities for the osteopathic profession including the most important areas of practice requiring evidence
• to influence and be informed by a variety of stakeholders including those involved in osteopathic education, the profession’s regulator, members of the professional association, practitioners in special interest groups, funders, patient representatives, and the Department of Health
• to support and influence the Osteopathic Educational Foundation to direct funding that has value to the osteopathic profession and patients attending for osteopathic care
• to map priorities to government priorities and research funding bodies

The response rate for Round 1 was 87.9% and identified 610 research priority areas. Round 2 identified 69 research themes as important, and Round 3 identified 20 research priority topic areas covering four themes: effectiveness of osteopathic treatment (seven areas prioritised), role of osteopathy: the management of four conditions were prioritised, risks with osteopathic treatment (two areas prioritised) and outcomes of osteopathic treatment (two areas prioritised).

Impact/Priorities

In order to make this type of study meaningful it is important to identify a strategy for action and then put it into practice. Since this study was begun, a number of initiatives have taken place to try and enhance wider dissemination and accessibility of research findings. The development of a new website for NCOR has focussed on making more resources including the priorities widely and continually available to osteopaths. The acquisition by the General Osteopathic Council of access to a larger number of journals from Elsevier has also given osteopaths the ability to read research from a wider range of professional groups, encompassing a broader range of topics.

This Delphi study has also identified a number of practical issues which can be addressed across the profession in terms of making research more accessible, but also more comprehensible to osteopaths who began their training some years ago when research education was not part of the curriculum delivered. The focus of the osteopathic profession’s activity based on the Delphi findings will be on reviewing strategies for dissemination of research findings to the osteopathic profession, and to undergraduates in training where significant research already exists, and identifying funding streams for the remaining research priority areas and being responsive to these as they are announced.