Our active research team is committed to promoting the development and dissemination of new forms of osteopathic research to extend the evidence-base for manual therapy within the broader context of biopsychosocial models of healthcare.
Research-based activities include providing lectures and practical skills workshops about critical appraisal of research literature and quantitative and qualitative research methods on undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and managing a wide range of student research projects. The team also help to develop and implement larger, funded studies within UCO and in collaboration with other national and international research organisations and educational institutions.
The UCO Research Centre currently has a team of eight members dedicated to delivering and supporting research and scholarship at UCO. The team also provide research teaching at UCO and support staff and students to develop scholarship and publish research.
Members of faculty contribute to publications in peer-reviewed journals, national clinical guidelines and successfully present work at osteopathic research conferences as well as at general medical conferences nationally and internationally. We review for academic journals and contribute to editorial boards including having a member of staff as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine published by Elsevier.
We are committed to promoting an evidence-informed approach to osteopathic education and healthcare. We have an active research department who work in collaboration with other organisations and are helping to pioneer novel research and contribute to the current body of knowledge about osteopathy and related health care. Our team includes osteopaths and researchers with a range of expertise, including psychology and complex statistical analysis. This expertise is used to support both undergraduate and postgraduate student projects which explore varied aspects of clinical practice and osteopathic education, as well as larger, funded studies that contribute to the wider environment of evidence-informed practice and healthcare education. Members of the research team regularly deliver presentations at national and international conferences, and have recently presented at conferences in Europe, Australia, Dubai and South Korea, as well as at the National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR), the Society for Back Pain Research and the Institute of Osteopathy’s conferences in the UK.
Recent achievements of the research team include:
- Editor-in-Chief and editorial board positions for the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine
- Membership on International Advisory Board for Musculoskeletal Science and Practice
- Contribution to the NICE clinical guideline development group for back pain and sciatica.
- Two travel fellowship awards from UK’s Society for Back Pain Research (SBPR)
- Institute of Osteopathy’s 2016 ‘Research into Practice’ award
Steven Vogel, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) is responsible for UCO’s research and its integrity. Please contact him directly if you would like to discuss research opportunities or raise concerns confidentially about the conduct of research undertaken at UCO. Additionally, UCO has a whistleblowing policy, which may be used as an alternative method of raising a concern about research conduct.