Capacity for clinical research on herbal medicines in Africa

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dc.contributor.authorWillcox M.
dc.contributor.authorSiegfried N.
dc.contributor.authorJohnson Q.
dc.date.accessioned2012-08-17T12:42:50Z
dc.date.available2012-08-17T12:42:50Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.descriptionArticle
dc.description.abstractAn electronic survey was used to assess the training needs of clinical and public health researchers who have been involved, and/or plan to become involved, in clinical trials of herbal medicines in Africa. Over 90 researchers were contacted through pre-existing networks, of whom 58 (64%) responded, from 35 institutions in 14 African countries. Over half (57%) had already been involved in a clinical trial of an herbal medicine, and gave information about a total of 23 trials that have already been completed. Of these, only five had been published, and only one had resulted in a licensed product. Fifty-four (54) of the researchers were planning to conduct a clinical trial of an herbal medicine in the future, and gave information about 54 possible trials. Respondents outlined the following most commonly encountered difficulties when conducting clinical trials: resource constraints (including lack of funding, equipment, staff, and infrastructure); social acceptance of the clinical trial (including difficulty recruiting enough patients, poor rapport with traditional healers, and willingness of biomedical staff to be involved); herbal medicine supply (including insufficient cultivation, production, and quality control); lack of trained staff; and logistical issues in conducting trials. The topics in which researchers were least confident were Intellectual Property Rights issues, statistical issues, and issues related to Good Clinical Practice guidelines. © Copyright 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2012.
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
dc.identifier.citation18
dc.identifier.citation6
dc.identifier.citation622
dc.identifier.citation628
dc.identifier.issn10755535
dc.identifier.other10.1089/acm.2011.0963
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49295
dc.titleCapacity for clinical research on herbal medicines in Africa
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