East Asian Medicine - The Menopause Research Project
Model Research Project: Developing Chinese Medicine Treatment Protocols for Menopausal Syndrome
A four-stage research program funded by a £ 400k Department of
Health Research Capacity Development Grant to investigate whether
Chinese medicine treatment protocols for menopausal syndrome might be
successfully integrated into the NHS.
Stage I: A
historical and ethnographic examination of treatment protocols for
menopausal syndrome within the East Asian medical tradition. The
results of this survey have been published in various journals and
references can be found here.
Stage II: A Cross-sectional survey of menopausal women in London area to
establish predominant symptoms patterns. This has been completed and
results will be published soon.
Stage III: An action
research project to define those treatment protocols form within the
Chinese medical tradition that appear to best meet the need of
menopausal women in the UK. Ethics approval has been obtained, and
three menopausal clinics are expected to start operating shortly.
Stage IV: This
is envisaged to be a conventional clinical trial that will evaluate the
effectiveness of the protocols determined in Stage III and will
contribute to the evidence base on complementary and alternative
medicines.
For more information, please see the EASTmedicine website.