Reliability of the NICMAN Scale: An Instrument to Assess the Quality of Acupuncture Administered in Clinical Trials

Smith, CA; Zaslawski, CJ; Cochrane, S; Zhu, X; Zheng, Z; Loyeung, B; Meier, PC; Walsh, S; Xue, CC; Zhang, AL; Fahey, PP; Bensoussan, A

Reliability of the NICMAN Scale: An Instrument to Assess the Quality of Acupuncture Administered in Clinical Trials

Smith, CA Zaslawski, CJ

Cochrane, S Zhu, X Zheng, Z Loyeung, B

Meier, PC

Walsh, S

Xue, CC

Zhang, AL Fahey, PP Bensoussan, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017, 2017
Issue Date:: 2017-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Smith, CA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Zaslawski, CJ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5618-5161	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cochrane, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Zhu, X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Zheng, Z	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Loyeung, B https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6498-2486	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Meier, PC https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6911-3511	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Walsh, S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7033-8547	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Xue, CC https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6937-9088	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, AL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fahey, PP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bensoussan, A	en_US
dc.date.available	2017-05-10	en_US
dc.date.issued	2017-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017, 2017	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1741-427X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/121058
dc.description.abstract	© 2017 Caroline A. Smith et al. Background. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of a scale to assess the methodological quality of acupuncture administered in clinical research. Methods. We invited 36 acupuncture researchers and postgraduate students to participate in the study. Firstly, participants rated two articles using the scale. Following this initial stage, modifications were made to scale items and the exercise was repeated. Interrater reliability was assessed for individual items using the Fleiss kappa statistic, whilst the overall scale used the intraclass correlation coefficient statistic. A threshold agreement of ≥0.61 was acceptable. Results. We received 26 responses and a 72% response rate. The first phase of testing found moderate reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.46 and 0.55 for the articles. The interrater reliability of the scales varied between and within the researchers (0.35, 0.60) and was more consistent with the postgraduate students (0.54, 0.54). Five items on the scale scored below the threshold and were revised for further testing. In this phase the intraclass correlation coefficient demonstrated variability between articles but improved to achieve reliability above the agreed threshold. Conclusion. This study provides evidence of the reliability of the NICMAN scale although improvements to a small number of items remain.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1155/2017/5694083	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Complementary & Alternative Medicine	en_US
dc.title	Reliability of the NICMAN Scale: An Instrument to Assess the Quality of Acupuncture Administered in Clinical Trials	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2017	en_US
utslib.for	1104 Complementary and Alternative Medicine	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	2017	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017 Caroline A. Smith et al. Background. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of a scale to assess the methodological quality of acupuncture administered in clinical research. Methods. We invited 36 acupuncture researchers and postgraduate students to participate in the study. Firstly, participants rated two articles using the scale. Following this initial stage, modifications were made to scale items and the exercise was repeated. Interrater reliability was assessed for individual items using the Fleiss kappa statistic, whilst the overall scale used the intraclass correlation coefficient statistic. A threshold agreement of ≥0.61 was acceptable. Results. We received 26 responses and a 72% response rate. The first phase of testing found moderate reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.46 and 0.55 for the articles. The interrater reliability of the scales varied between and within the researchers (0.35, 0.60) and was more consistent with the postgraduate students (0.54, 0.54). Five items on the scale scored below the threshold and were revised for further testing. In this phase the intraclass correlation coefficient demonstrated variability between articles but improved to achieve reliability above the agreed threshold. Conclusion. This study provides evidence of the reliability of the NICMAN scale although improvements to a small number of items remain.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/121058