Prof Amie Steel, Dr Iva Lloyd, Prof Matthew Leach and Dr Vicky Ward

This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Naturopaths’ behaviours, attitudes and perceptions towards the use of knowledge and information sources’.

The modern health landscape is dominated by the evidence-based practice paradigm which asks health professionals to prefer research evidence over other forms of knowledge and information when providing care to their patients. However, clinicians from most areas of health – including general practice and allied health – have argued that the realities of practice are not so simple. While this ‘messiness’ of clinical practice is documented for many mainstream health professions, there has been little to no research examining how clinicians from traditional medicine systems use knowledge and information in their practice, until now.

An international survey of naturopaths was recently published in Evidence and Policy which found they used a diverse range of knowledge and information sources when making clinical decisions. The survey respondents practice naturopathy, a traditional medicine system originating from Europe but now practiced in 108 countries across all world regions. Naturopathy uses a highly patient-centred and holistic clinical approach that prioritises preventive health and wellness, and patient education and empowerment.

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