Cochrane Complementary Medicine Germany
Complementary medicine is widely used, but there is often a lack of scientifically sound information on the effectiveness and safety of the methods involved. This is where Cochrane Complementary Medicine Germany comes in: The research center, based at the University Hospital of Tübingen and the Bosch Health Campus in Stuttgart, was founded in March 2025 to strengthen the quality and transparency of research into complementary medicine.
The center is headed by Prof. Dr. Holger Cramer, Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Tübingen and Scientific Director of the Robert Bosch Center for Integrative Medicine and Health. The aim is to systematically process scientific findings, provide well-founded information, and thus create an evidence-based decision-making basis for patients, physicians, and the healthcare system.
Making scientific knowledge accessible
Cochrane Complementary Medicine Germany is part of the international Cochrane network, which has been producing Cochrane Reviews since 1993 – systematic reviews based on strict scientific criteria. These reviews collate the available knowledge on specific medical issues and make it accessible worldwide via the Cochrane Library.
The new center's initial work will focus on evaluating non-pharmacological interventions such as yoga for diabetes and acupuncture for tension headaches, as well as pharmacological approaches such as echinacea for infection prevention.
The centet is also involved in the further development of research methodology and in providing training on how to produce systematic reviews. Other tasks include translating Cochrane Reviews into layman's terms, preparing clinical studies for databases, and disseminating scientific findings.
Bringing evidence-based methods into healthcare
Cochrane Complementary Medicine Germany is creating a central hub for independent, transparent, and high-quality research on complementary medicine in Germany with the aim of promoting the integration of evidence-based methods into healthcare in the long term.
There are four other Cochrane Complementary Medicine sites worldwide: at Georgetown University, at the University Hospital Zurich and the University of Zurich in Switzerland, at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.