Ayurveda for type 2 diabetes management
Clinical guideline to manage type 2 diabetes by Ayurvedic practitioners
Funders: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Department for International Development, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, and Wellcome Trust Joint Global Health Trials
The project: Clinical guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes by Ayurvedic practitioners are available; however, these have not been rigorously developed, thus they are limited in scope with no clear recommendations for actions at various stages of the type 2 diabetes care pathway, and can lead to the use of ineffective interventions, inefficient use of scares resources, and most importantly, harm to patients.
This project comprises of conducting a systematic review of the scientific literature on the effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic medicines in type 2 diabetes management, which will be used to inform the development of an independent clinical guideline. Then, a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted in Nepal to determine the feasibility of undertaking the main trial.
The aim of the main trial will be to explore whether the introduction of a clinical guideline can improve the management of type 2 diabetes by Ayurvedic practitioners
The subsidiary objectives of this early phase study are:
- To develop the clinical guideline (intervention): We will follow the standard clinical guideline development process. The scientific evidence base is not large for many Ayurvedic components (e.g., lifestyle) and we will draw analogous evidence from the standard western medicine clinical guidelines. A systematic review will be conducted on the effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic medicines in type 2 diabetes management, to generate evidence statements. These statements will be presented to an independent clinical guideline development committee for making the final decisions. Accordingly, the clinical guideline will be drafted.
- To determine the feasibility of undertaking the main cluster randomised controlled trial: Health centres in Nepal with an Ayurvedic practitioner will be randomised to intervention or comparator groups. New cases of type 2 diabetes, diagnosed by the Ayurvedic practitioner, will be recruited. Quantitative data will be collected to estimate essential parameters that are needed to design the main cluster randomised controlled trial. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore the study- and intervention-specific issues.
This project will develop and evaluate an evidence based clinical practice guideline for Ayurvedic practitioners to use to improve the care they give to people with type 2 diabetes
For more information contact: kaushik.chattopadhyay@nottingham.ac.uk
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