Exploring the scientific new model for Chinese medicine etiology research by using Cohort Study combined with Grounded Theory in sequence

摘要

Purpose: Chinese medicine etiology theories are predominantlyinitiated by experts opinions and/or their clinicalexperiences, which are not be evaluated by scientific clinicaltrials, and it is a truly key issue to develop evidence-based Chinesemedicine etiology research to achieve better outcomesby using Chinese medicine for patients. Based on our previousmethodology researches in Chinese medicine and theobservation on Chinese medicine curative effect evaluationaccording to “pathogeny from syndrome differentiation andtreatment from pathogeny” principle.Methods: This study proposes scientific hypotheses thatthe design of Cohort Study combined in sequence withGrounded Theory would help to establish a new methodologymodel for Chinese medicine etiology research. AndProspective Cohort Study will be used in this study to explorethe interaction between Gastrointestinal Heat Retention Syndromeand Wind-warm Lung-heat Disease to identify theircause-effect relationship as a pioneering try in Chinesemedicine to supplement the traditional etiology knowledgethat deficiency of ZhengQi is an instinct factor to drive WindwarmLung-heat Disease. Then the qualitative method ofGrounded Theory will be used to induce and generalize atheory by concerning and processing raw data from the perspectivesof Chinese medicine practitioners’ understandingsand experiences towards the interaction between GastrointestinalHeat Retention Syndrome andWind-warm Lung-heatDisease to theorize the results of Cohort Study.Results: All these will help to appraise the stability andthe effect of this etiology research model which is deem tobe scientific and specific for Chinese medicine to embody theprinciples of CM and characteristics of differentiation of syndromeswith broadly feasibility.Conclusion: The scientific newmodel for Chinese medicineetiology research can be built by using Cohort Study combinedwith Grounded Theory in sequence.