IWU Complementary and Alternative Therapies Worksheet

Resources

• Article: Critical Evaluation of Websites
• File: Website Critique Chart.docx
• Textbook:
  
  The Biblical Guide to Alternative Medicine
  
• Textbook:
  
  The Healing Gods
  
• OCLS: School of Nursing Evidence-Based Toolkit for Nursing

  Background Information
  

  There are many websites that provide information about complementary and alternative therapies.? As a nurse, you need to be judicious in helping clients discern safe therapies.? The objective of this critique is to provide you with an opportunity to use your critical thinking skills to evaluate a website on CAT. For this assignment, you will evaluate the ethics of the owner of a website that is either promoting or selling a complementary or alternative therapy. Here are a few things to think about as you delve into this assignment. First, remember what you have learned about the importance of making sure your nursing practice is supported by scientific evidence. You should reflect on a pharmacology course you have taken and what you have learned about the years of research and development (R&D) that go into a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug. You will recall that it typically takes many years and millions of dollars for a drug to make it through all of the randomly controlled, double-blind clinical trials that are required by the FDA. Also, consider the reasons the United States needs to have a governmental agency like the FDA in place? A significant reason is to protect the citizens of the US from predatory, unscrupulous drug companies. Now, also, think about who protects the citizens of the United States from predatory, unscrupulous complementary alternative therapy companies. You have also learned how important it is not to allow yourself to be deceived. Just because something is labeled as ?natural? or ?complementary? does not ensure it is safe, neither does it ensure the integrity of its developers or their marketing tactics.
  
  
  
  Ethics and the Internet
  
  Before you begin your search, consider a fictitious case study of a patient with a new diagnosis of Stage I thyroid cancer that was diagnosed by a physician practicing traditional Western medicine. You probably know that thyroid cancer has a high rate of cure under conventional treatment. However, this patient is fearful of doctors and instead of seeking treatment, decides to do research on the Internet. The patient finds an advertisement for a complementary therapy treatment that promises a natural cure ?without surgery or toxic medications.? Unfortunately, the claims are bogus, and the treatment is merely a mixture of acetaminophen and inert substances. The patient finds out too late that the promised cure will not happen and that she is dying.
  
  
  Our patients have autonomy that ensures they have the right to seek a healthcare option outside of Western medicine. However, how ethical do you think the owner of the complementary therapy site that promised a ?cure? is?? Is an owner of a website ethical because they have good intentions? Is a consumer who has not done due diligence, or one who has not researched the products they try, responsible for subsequent deleterious results?? Is it ethical to promote a product that has no scientific basis for the claims made?? To go even further, does patient autonomy trump all of the knowledge you have gained about evidence-based practice and what you have seen in your practice that worked to restore health? What about the promised cures you have seen that have not worked well? Do you have an ethical obligation to speak up and educate your patients about the dangers of taking an unproven or untested product that could delay their seeking an effective treatment? Do you have an ethical responsibility to educate patients on one that could be dangerous to their health? These are some thoughts to ponder as you embark on this assignment and the remainder of this course.

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  Instructions
  

  1. Read the article,
     
     Evaluating Sources ? Websites
     
     available through OCLS. Keep this website available, it is the basis of evaluating the websites you choose.
  2. Once you are prepared, explore various websites as an uneducated layperson would look for CAT modalities addressing common everyday illnesses, such as headaches, backaches, constipation, etc.
  3. Select three websites to critique.? Do not use NCCIH, Quackwatch, WebMD, the Mayo Clinic website, or any other known, reputable organization?s site. For this portion of the assignment, do not use CDC, NIH, FDA, etc. These are also known, reputable websites. Instead, look on the Internet in general as if you were a lay person, and not a nurse.
  4. Once you have done your research, evaluate the websites as an informed, astute nurse. A good tip, when trying to determine the legitimacy of a website?s author, try typing their name into a Google search, or another search engine to see what you can learn. This strategy could help you determine if the person?s listed degrees or credentials are real or false.
  5. Download the file
     
     Website Critique Chart
     
     .? Use the chart as a guide to facilitate your collection of data for the website critique. Submit only the completed chart.
  6. The Level of Evidence section refers to the hierarchy of research evidence. Please visit the School of Nursing
     
     Evidence-based Toolkit for Nursing
     
     to help you determine the level of evidence; once the webpage opens, click on the Hierarchy of Evidence tab.
  7. Fill in every section to be eligible for full points for the chart.
  8. Each section needs to be addressed. e.g.., if you are unable to determine any strengths or weaknesses, this must be stated in the box, Unable to determine any strengths.
  9. Worldview: The worldview of the website author is rarely stated. It is up to you as the nurse researcher to determine the worldview. The worldview should be one from one of the worldview resources provided. Revisit the worldview resources as needed; from your knowledge base and the documents available, to the best of your ability, discern which of one of those worldviews align with the website being critiqued.