Barbara Wider

Barbara Wider
UiT The Arctic University of Norway · Department of Community Medicine

About

62
Publications
19,801
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2,081
Citations
Introduction
Research interests: Safety and efficacy of complementary medicine -- Integrative oncology -- Mistletoe in cancer care (Cochrane systematic review) -- Health literacy in complementary and integrative medicine -- Health information and communication -- Evidence-based medicine
Additional affiliations
November 2018 - January 2022
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Position
  • Consultant
Description
  • NAFKAM - National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine WHO Collaboration Center CAM-Cancer
September 1996 - October 2018
University of Exeter
Position
  • Research Associate

Publications

Publications (62)
Article
Full-text available
Background Traditional medicine (TM) plays a significant role in healthcare either as part of the primary healthcare system or as an adjunct to conventional medicine. This study aimed to map systematic reviews (SRs) of TM modalities across health conditions and identify gaps in the research literature to facilitate priority setting in future TM res...
Article
Full-text available
Background Cancer is the leading cause of death in Norway, with prostate, breast, lung, and colon cancers being the most prevalent types. Adopting a healthy and varied diet can help reduce cancer risk and recurrence. However, access to dietary counselling remains limited for cancer patients in Norway. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Traditional medicine (TM) is an important part of healthcare either as the main healthcare system or as a complement to conventional medicine. The effectiveness of TM has been assessed in clinical trials that have been synthesised into thousands of systematic reviews (SRs). This study is commissioned by the World Health Organization (W...
Article
Full-text available
Background The increasing number of patients surviving cancer leads to more people experiencing late and long term-effects from the disease and its treatment. Fatigue, sleep disorders, early menopause, pain, and nerve damage are commonly reported. Methods helping people to recover after cancer treatment are therefore essential. The aims of this stu...
Article
Full-text available
Background Research exploring the use of specific Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) modalities by Norwegian cancer patients is sparse. The aims of this study were therefor to map the different CAM modalities cancer patients use and further investigate their rationale for use, communication about use, self-reported benefits and harms, and...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives The present study was initiated to determine consultations with health care providers and use of self-management strategies for prevention or treatment of COVID-19 related symptoms in countries with a full lockdown (Norway), a partial lockdown (the Netherlands) and no lockdown (Sweden) during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandem...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background The present study was initiated to determine consultations with health care providers and use of self-management strategies such as herbal remedies, dietary supplements and self-help techniques for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 related symptoms in countries with a full lockdown (Norway), a partial (’intelligent’) lockdown (the Net...
Article
Full-text available
Background: The use of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) is common among older adults; however, little is known about concurrent use with prescription drugs, as well as potential interactions associated with such combinations. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate the literature on concurrent prescription and H...
Chapter
Background: Hypercholesterolaemia is directly associated with an increased risk for coronary heart disease and other sequelae of atherosclerosis. Artichoke leaf extract (ALE) has been implicated in lowering cholesterol levels. Whether ALE is truly effective for this indication is still a matter of debate. This is an update of a review first publish...
Article
Full-text available
Background: There has been a global increase in the use of herbal medicinal products (HMPs). About a quarter of UK adults use HMPs, bought over the counter by self-prescription and often not disclosed to healthcare professionals. Potential herb-drug interaction is a clinical concern, with older people at greater risk because of co-morbidities and...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract BACKGROUND: This review is an update of a previously published review in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews on 'Feverfew for preventing migraine' (2004, Issue 1). Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.) extract is a herbal remedy, which has been used for preventing attacks of migraine. OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the evi...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Several slimming aids being sold as food supplements are widely available. One of them is pyruvate. Its efficacy in causing weight reduction in humans has not been fully established. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the efficacy of pyruvate in reducing body weight. Methods: Electronic and nonelectronic searches...
Article
‘CAM-Cancer’ is the name of a project entitled ‘Concerted Action for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Assessment in the Cancer Field’ (CAM-Cancer). The CAM-Cancer website () is an open-access information resource on CAM for cancer. It provides synthesised evidence-based information for healthcare professionals drawing on the current research...
Article
The popularity of herbal medicines has risen worldwide. This increase in usage renders safety issues important. Many adverse events of herbal medicines can be attributed to the poor quality of the raw materials or the finished products. Different types of herbal medicines are associated with different problems. Quality issues of herbal medicines ca...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this systematic review is to examine the efficacy of Garcinia extract, hydroxycitric acid (HCA) as a weight reduction agent, using data from randomised clinical trials (RCTs). Electronic and nonelectronic searches were conducted to identify relevant articles, with no restrictions in language or time. Two independent reviewers extracted t...
Article
In many countries, recent data on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are available. However, in England, there is a paucity of such data. We sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of CAM use in England. Data were obtained from the Health Survey for England 2005, a national household survey that included questions on...
Article
Objective: This discussion document about the management of cancer pain is written from the pain specialists' perspective in order to provoke thought and interest in a multimodal approach to the management of cancer pain, not just towards the end of life, but pain at diagnosis, as a consequence of cancer therapies, and in cancer survivors. It rela...
Article
Systematic reviews (SRs) are considered the best tools for summarizing the evidence for or against the effectiveness of health care interventions. The principles and methods of SRs apply equally to both, mainstream and complementary/alternative medicine (CAM). Certain challenges are, however, more commonly encountered in CAM or even specific to it;...
Article
Complementary and alternative medicine Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) encompass a very diverse array of treatment modalities and diagnostic techniques. Th ey have in common that they are not presently considered part of conventional/mainstream medicine and emphasize a holistic approach towards health care. A number of terms and defin...
Article
Background: Hypercholesterolaemia is directly associated with an increased risk for coronary heart disease and other sequelae of atherosclerosis. Artichoke leaf extract (ALE) has been implicated in lowering cholesterol levels. Whether ALE is truly effective for this indication is still a matter of debate. This is an update of a review first publis...
Article
Full-text available
Serenoa repens (W. Bartram) Small, also known as saw palmetto, is one of the most widely used herbal preparations for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews of the efficacy of S. repens for the treatment of LUTS and...
Article
Serenoa repens (W. Bartram) Small, also known as saw palmetto, is one of the most widely used herbal preparations for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews of the efficacy of S. repens for the treatment of LUTS and...
Article
Keywords:CAM;elderly;insomnia;melatonin;RCTs;valerian
Book
GENERAL ISSUES DIAGNOSTIC CAM METHODS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINES CONDITIONS 1. Cardiology 2. Dermatology 3. Diabetology 4. Gastroenterology 5. Gynaecology & obstetrics 6. Infectious diseases 7. Metabolism/endocrinology 8. Neurology 9. Oncology 10. Otorhinolaryngology 11. Psychiatry 12. Respiratory diseases 13. Rheumatology 14....
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this article is to evaluate trends in the development of the evidence-base for the effectiveness of massage therapy. For this purpose, a comparison of two systematic reviews was conducted. The first related to the evidence-base in 2000, the second to 2005. Both employed the same methodology and criteria for evaluation. The results indica...
Article
Full-text available
The effectiveness of mind-body therapies is sometimes doubted. The aim of this article is to evaluate trends in the development of the evidence base for autogenic training, hypnotherapy, and relaxation therapy. For this purpose, a comparison of 2 series of systematic reviews was conducted. The first is related to the evidence base in 2000, the seco...
Article
Full-text available
To systematically review the evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for the effectiveness of the antioxidant vitamins A, C, E or selenium or their combination in the treatment of arthritis. METHODSL: A systematic search of computerized databases from inception to September 2006 for relevant RCTs, application of pre-defined inclusion/exclus...
Article
The aim of this article is to compare the evidence relating to the effectiveness of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) in palliative cancer care as it existed in 2000 and 2005. Our comparison is based on systematic reviews using the same methodology at these two points in time. The results reveal a buoyant research activity in this sector. Co...
Article
Back pain is the most common reason for using complementary therapies. This analysis of the trial evidence is aimed at determining whether the evidence base for or against complementary therapies for back pain is getting stronger. Two series of systematic reviews conducted with the same methodology 5 years apart were compared. The results suggest t...
Article
The effectiveness of acupuncture remains a controversial issue. The aim of this article is to evaluate trends over time in the development of the evidence-base of acupuncture. A comparison of two series of systematic reviews was conducted. The first related to the evidence-base in 2000, the second related to 2005. Both employed virtually the same m...
Article
Objective: In September 2006, the UK licensing authorities have agreed that, within EU regulation, homeopathic medicines will be allowed to make claims in the absence of proof of effectiveness. Other member states have taken or will take similar action. Yet the effectiveness of homeopathy remains a controversial issue. The aim of this article is to...
Article
A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the effects of Ginkgo biloba preparations on blood coagulation parameters. Systematic literature searches were carried out using MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL®, the Cochrane Library and PsycINFO to identify randomised, double-blind, clinical trials of G. biloba mono-preparatio...
Article
Research into complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is not as new as it might appear from a U.K. perspective. Most continental European countries have a long tradition in CAM research. Many studies of homoeopathy, for instance, were published decades ago in languages other than English [The trials of homeopathy. Origins, structure and develo...
Article
A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the effects of Ginkgo biloba preparations on blood coagulation parameters. Systematic literature searches were carried out using MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL®, the Cochrane Library and PsycINFO to identify randomised, double-blind, clinical trials of G. biloba mono-preparatio...
Article
A custom-made questionnaire was sent to all UK medical charities in 1999 and again in 2002. Its primary aim was to assess the commitment of these institutions towards funding research in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Sixty-two (1999) and 60 (2002) answers were received corresponding to response rates of 62% and 55%. The total CAM re...
Article
Full-text available
Editor—Arguably clinical trials are the most important basis for evidence based medicine. So why are more such investigations not funded in the United Kingdom? Both in 1999 and 2002 we sent a custom made questionnaire to all medicine charities listed in the Association of Medical Research Charities Handbook 2001, inquiring about the level of fundi...
Article
Acupuncture is commonly used to treat back pain. A meta-analysis of clinical trials of acupuncture for this condition came to a positive conclusion whilst a qualitative review was negative. To compare our meta-analysis of trials of acupuncture for the treatment of back pain with a qualitative review and the most recent studies on the subject. A sys...
Article
Background: Acupuncture is commonly used to treat back pain. A meta-analysis of clinical trials of acupuncture for this condition came to a positive conclusion whilst a qualitative review was negative. Aim: To compare our meta-analysis of trials of acupuncture for the treatment of back pain with a qualitative review and the most recent studies on t...

Network

Cited By
    • Community Practice of Hematology-Oncology Specializing in Prostate Cancer
    • Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
    • University of Pécs and Yamamoto Rehabilitation Institute-Budapest, TCM Confucius Institute at Pecs University,
    • University of Adelaide
    • University of York