Abrams, D

Acree, M

Adler, S

Dhruva, A

Hecht, F

Miaskowski, C

Weaver, J

English

PubMed

A Dhruva

S Adler

J Weaver

M Acree

C Miaskowski

D Abrams

F Hecht

Springer - Publisher Connector

P05.18. Mixed methods approaches in whole systems research: a study of Ayurvedic diagnostics

POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access
P05.18. Mixed methods approaches in whole
systems research: a study of Ayurvedic
diagnostics
A Dhruva*, S Adler, J Weaver, M Acree, C Miaskowski, D Abrams, F Hecht
From International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health 2012
Portland, Oregon, USA. 15-18 May 2012
Purpose
To investigate the clinical rationale and agreement
between raters for making Ayurvedic diagnoses, using a
mixed methods approach.
Methods
Three 30 minute Ayurvedic assessments, including a
history and limited physical exam, were videotaped and
then viewed by Ayurvedic clinicians. The clinicians were
asked to identify the primary and secondary dosha
(Ayurvedic physiologic principle) involved in the
patient’s prakruti (mind-body constitution) and vikruti
(current state of the doshas) and explain their rationale
for making a diagnosis. Cross-sectional comparison and
thematic analytic approaches were used to analyze quali-
tative data.
Results
Of 13 participants to date, 77% had at least a 6-year
Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degree;
participants had a mean of 15 years of clinical experi-
ence. Overall agreement on diagnoses ranged between
60-100% and was higher for vikruti (mean 86%) than
prakruti (mean 75%). The mean rating of the similarity
of the video format to real life was five (0-10 scale).
Qualitative themes reported were: 1) Participants felt
the video format limited their ability to ask about speci-
fic clinical information. 2) Participants explained that
the video format was limiting because more clinical
details obtained in a longer interview, an in-person phy-
sical exam, and re-evaluation of findings over time are
important in making an accurate prakruti diagnosis.
Conclusion
A moderate to high degree of agreement was found in
the quantitative analysis and was better for vikruti than
prakruti diagnoses. The video format, though well suited
to the research paradigm, was limiting for the clinicians
in terms of real world practice. Even when there was
disagreement in diagnoses, the clinical rationale pro-
vided by clinicians was consistent with the theoretical
basis of Ayurvedic medicine. A mixed methods
approach was well suited to the study of Ayurveda as a
whole system of medicine, but whole systems research
remains challenging due to the complexity of the whole
system.
Published: 12 June 2012
doi:10.1186/1472-6882-12-S1-P378
Cite this article as: Dhruva et al.: P05.18. Mixed methods approaches in
whole systems research: a study of Ayurvedic diagnostics. BMC
Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 12(Suppl 1):P378.
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Dhruva et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012, 12(Suppl 1):P378
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/12/S1/P378
© 2012 Dhruva et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Crossref

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Dhruva A

Adler S

Weaver J

Acree M

Miaskowski C

Abrams D

Hecht F

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P05.18. Mixed methods approaches in whole systems research: a study of Ayurvedic diagnostics

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