Naturopaths Registration Research Project (the NRR Project). E-bulletin number 2
The NRR Project is a joint initiative of member organisations of the Australian Naturopathic Council (ANC). The ANC has initiated this project to research the risks, the benefits and the regulatory requirements for the naturopathy profession. The research will inform the preparation of a submission from ANC member organisations to State, Territory and Commonwealth Governments to seek national registration of naturopaths under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for the health professions (NRAS).
Latest Update: February 2021
NRR Steering Committee has been meeting at least monthly since August 2020 and are pleased to share a brief update on the progress of the project.
We have now settled on the structure of the report which will consist of 9-10 chapters detailing important aspects of the naturopathic profession and naturopathy practice in Australia including the:
- Naturopathy/Western Herbal Medicine workforce
- Consumers who use naturopathic services
- The Education landscape
- Associations and groups that represent the profession
- The profession’s interaction with other institutions and organisations (e.g government, third-party funders)
- Evidence of the effectiveness of naturopathic practice and practices
- Attitudes of other health professionals towards the naturopathic profession
All chapters have been assigned a lead author who may be also working with others who are experts in their chapter topic area. Most chapters are well underway with planning, data collection, and writing.
We are very fortunate that, in recent years, our Australian research community has undertaken a substantial body of research to draw upon, detailing the Australian naturopathic/Western herbal medicine workforce; the consumers who use naturopathic services; and the attitudes of other health professionals. As such, these chapters are already quite progressed and will likely be completed very soon.
Other chapters will rely on further data collection. Online surveys to collect information have been designed for the professional associations as well as the education providers. These are currently being extensively tested for technical functionality.
And finally, ethics applications are currently being drafted so that the NRR team have approval to contact potential participants for their important contributions.
We are very excited to see this project continuing to progress at such a great pace, despite all of the distractions and challenges the national and global community have been dealing with over this time. We look forward to updating you again in the coming months.
Previous e-bulletins for this project can be accessed here