Daniel C. Cherkin, Ph.D.

Daniel C. Cherkin, Ph.D.,is Associate Director and Senior Scientific Investigator with the Center for Health Studies at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and Affiliate Professor of Family Medicine and Health Services at the University of Washington. An epidemiologist/health services researcher by training, Dr. Cherkin's research has focused on improving care for common health problems, in particular, low back pain.

He has conducted several randomized controlled trials evaluating a range of conventional and alternative treatments for low back pain, including chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture and massage. Dr. Cherkin is particularly interested in identifying the non-specific components of therapeutic interventions that promote healing.

Massage is often used for low back pain but, until recently, little has been known about its effectiveness. We conducted the first large randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of massage for chronic low back pain. This presentation will present the methods and results of this trial, highlighting the methodoligical challenges in this new area of research.

A 3-hour interactive workshop in which the trainers and participants will jointly select a research question and then proceed through the phases of the research process, indentifying and answering the questions that arise in drafting each section of a research proposal.