Complementary and Alternative Therapies Evidence-based Summaries

Complementary and Alternative Therapies Evidence-based Summaries
As a contribution to the need for evidence-based information on Complementary and Alternative Therapies (CAM), the Ministry of Health funded the development of a CAM website for New Zealanders between 2003 and 2006. Two organisations were involved with this initiative: New Zealand Health Technology Assessment (NZHTA) and the New Zealand Guidelines Group (NZGG).

The website was eventually discontinued because only a small number of evidence summaries could be produced with the resources available. By 2006 it was also no longer considered to be a priority to continue to provide an exclusive CAM website in New Zealand, largely because of the growing international availability of reliable sources of information. For example, the Ministry has purchased for New Zealanders two national subscriptions to online health information resources:

Below are the 26 evidence-based summaries that were developed and published on the New Zealand CAM website between 2004 and 2006. They are provided in both full text and PDF.

CAM Group	No.	Topic of evidence review	Year of review
Acupuncture	A1	Acupuncture for osteoarthritis	2004
	A2	Acupuncture for smoking cessation	2004
	A3	Does moxibustion help turn around a breech baby?	2006
	A4	Does acupuncture have beneficial effects on symptoms in people with migraine or tension headaches?	2006
	A5	Does acupuncture reduce pain in adults with acute or chronic low back pain?	2006
Chiropractic	CH1	Spinal manipulation for acute (short-term) low back pain	2004
	CH2	Spinal manipulation for chronic (long-term) low back pain	2004
	CH3	Does chiropractic treatment help with low-back pain?	2006
	CH4	Does chiropractic spinal manipulation help infantile colic?	2006
Herbal medicine	HM1	Horse chestnut seed extract for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency	2004
	HM2	Garlic for the treatment of calf pain when walking	2004
	HM3	Echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold	2004
	HM4	Feverfew for the prevention and treatment of migraine	2004
	HM5	Arnica creams, gels and sprays for the treatment of soft tissue injury	2004
	HM6	Do cranberries help prevent urinary tract infections?	2006
	HM7	Does Chinese herbal medicine help with blood glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus?	2006
	HM8	Does St John's Wort improve symptoms of depression?	2006
Homeopathy	HO1	Homoeopathic oscillococcinum for the prevention and treatment of influenza	2004
	HO2	Homoeopathic arnica for the treatment of soft tissue injury	2004
	HO3	Does homoeopathy help reduce the side effects of treatment for cancer?	2006
	HO4	Does homeopathy help infantile colic?	2006
Osteopathy	OS1	Does osteopathy help infantile colic?	2006
Others	OTH1	Does Vitamin C treat or prevent the common cold?	2006
	OTH2	Does massage or aromatherapy massage relieve symptoms of nausea, pain, anxiety and distress in people with cancer?	2006
	OTH3	Does honey help heal burns and scalds?	2006
	OTH4	Do physical therapies benefit people with chronic or recurrent headache?	2006

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Page last updated: 19 March 2009