The spa industry pulled off quite an achievement when it created its research portal – www.spaevidence.com. The site re-badged four selected medical research engines under the spaevidence banner, creating one site that gives access to thousands of clinical studies into 21 of the most common spa and wellness modalities.
This was the first time much of this research was made available to the public. Users can decide on the depth they want to go into, either reading the full research document, or a summary of five research documents per therapy.
When the site was unveiled at the 2011 Global Spa Summit, its creators – Susie Ellis, Dr Kenneth Pelletier, Dr Daniel Friedland, Dr Marc Cohen and web developer Self Optima – were given a standing ovation. Much of the audience was in tears, as they felt their work had finally been given credence.
So should the fitness sector follow the lead of the spa industry? There’s certainly no shortage of research. If we did manage to create a research portal, might this be enough to persuade GPs to prescribe exercise to patients on a wider scale? Could this be the tool to persuade the sedentary population to take action?
Were such a project to go ahead, there would be several practical issues to address. Pulling it all together would be a lot of work: who would do this and who might fund it – might it be a candidate for crowd-funding? And who would govern it on an ongoing basis?
If it’s an industry project, will the public view it suspiciously – will it only work if the healthcare industry, or government, also has a role in its creation?
And if such a website were set up and proved successful, attracting new interest in fitness among the public, would we be ready with the support people might need to change their lifestyles? We ask the experts.....