The GOsC is committed to supporting best practice in osteopathic research. Osteopathy’s integration within the wider primary healthcare community will be assisted by reliable evidence of the health benefits of osteopathic care.
Osteopathy’s independent research bodyThe National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR) was established in 2003, to foster research and raise the profile of osteopathy research findings.
Based at the Clinical Research Centre in the School of Health Professions at the University of Brighton, NCOR is funded by stakeholder groups: the General Osteopathic Council, the British Osteopathic Association, and all the UK osteopathic educational institutions. NCOR's governing council includes representatives from these stakeholder groups and two further co-opted members, representing both private and NHS practitioners.
For further information about the work of NCOR email the NCOR Research Development Officer at C.A.Fawkes@brighton.ac.uk or visit the NCOR website.
The General Osteopathic Council commissioned research into patients’ expectations of osteopathic care as part of a wider programme of work to enhance knowledge of the attitudes, needs and concerns of the public and patients who seek the care of osteopaths. The results of the research have now been published (August 2011) and are available on the OPEn study page.
The Effectiveness of Manual Therapies – the UK evidence report offers a comprehensive summary of the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of manual therapies in the management of a range of musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal conditions.
Further information relating to clinical guidelines can be found on our Referrals to osteopaths page.
The GOsC also commissions its own research to assess the effectiveness of its regulatory processes and policies. Recent, ongoing and future research projects are listed below.
As part of our statutory duty to promote high standards of education we commissioned a research project to help us understand how prepared graduates are for practice. This will help us to decide whether further support is required for osteopaths as they make the transition from student to practitioner to ensure continually high standards of care for patients.
The research was carried out by Professor Della Freeth and team from Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London who have experience of undertaking similar work for other registered healthcare professionals. The survey closed on 31 August 2011 and the results will be available in due course.
The aim of this project was to develop and pilot a research tool that would enable osteopaths to collect, share and compare patient data; the data would all be anonymised. The work, which took place between 2008-2010 was led by NCOR. The final report on the data gathered in this pilot is now available.
The results will inform osteopathic regulation, further research and practice.
It is a patient’s right to be made as fully aware as possible of any known risks associated with a healthcare intervention, before consenting to treatment. To gain a better understanding of any potential risk that may be associated with osteopathic care, four interlinked research projects have been funded by the GOsC.
This systematic investigation of adverse events associated with osteopathic care aims to inform and guide osteopaths’ practice and enhance patient safety. The research programme comprises four studies:
We have commissioned a programme of ongoing research to test complainants' and registrants' satisfaction levels with the service provided by our Fitness to Practise department. The research, which began in January 2009, also includes individuals who contact the GOsC with a concern but may not go on to make a formal complaint. Completed questionnaires are analysed by an independent research organisation. These findings will be used to refine our fitness to practise processes and, where appropriate, issue guidance to registrants. Email us at regulation@osteopathy.org.uk for further information.
In March 2010 the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence published an audit of all healthcare regulators’ handling of the early stages of complaints. The audit found that the GOsC deals with initial fitness to practise decisions effectively and makes “consistent decisions that are sound, that protect the public, and that should maintain public confidence in the regulation of the osteopathic profession”. Several areas of good practice were highlighted and the audit also identified two areas where some enhancement was needed: in providing more detailed explanations of some of the Investigating Committee’s decisions; and more complete recording of interactions with the parties involved in the complaints process. For further information see our press release about the audit findings.
In August 2008 we conducted a survey of new registrants to assess their satisfaction levels with our registration processes. Of those who responded, 94% considered the assistance given by the GOsC to those applying for registration helpful, and two-thirds rated the GOsC pre-registration communications campaign very useful. Just 8% had experienced difficulty completing the registration process, and 25% suggested aspects of the process that could be improved – findings that have helped us refine our processes. Email us at registration@osteopathy.org.uk for further information.
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