Project Information and Updates
Current State:
Obtaining an IRB
Interviews Conducted
0
0
Hours Spent in Analysis
127
Hours Spent Staring at Blank Walls While Lost in Thought
A Short List of Topics
The BIG research question:
Define the scope of the massage therapy profession struggle including identifying: pieces, contributing factors, and interrelations.
Stakeholder topics:
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Entry-level Education: schools, instructors, curriculum, students, accreditation
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Continuing Education: monopolies, pathways, trademark wars, gurus, certifications
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Associations: domains, motives, transparency, nepotism, competition, cooperation
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Franchises: motives, politics, education creation/influence, problem solving methods
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Outside Influences/Comparisons: mainstream medicine, alternative/complementary modalities, nursing
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International Comparisons: Canadian provinces, Australia (?)
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Research: Quantitative vs qualitative, current research questions, funding, researchers, what do we really know?
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Therapists on the Ground: adaptability, isolationism, collective identity
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Sex Work and/or Human-Trafficking: using massage's name
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The Public: clear messaging, awareness of massage capability
Concepts:
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History: how far have we come? What happened before this moment? (See "The Emergence of the Massage Therapy Profession in North America" for some answers)
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Ethics: bias, boundaries, licensing
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Equity: diversity, cost of massage, insurance
Massage vs Massage:
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Art vs science
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Recreation/spa/service vs clinical outcomes/medical/healthcare
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Knowledge (evidence based) vs intuition
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Profession vs vocation/field
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Amateur vs expert
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Group vs individualism
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Complacency vs change vs stagnation
A Shockingly Incomplete List of Questions
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What is the difference between spa and medical? Does it matter?
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What is preventing us from having entry-level education standards?
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Why do the associations have such trouble working together?
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What is the purpose of those associations? Are they fulfilling that purpose?
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How does the American system compare to other countries?
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What can massage learn from traditional medicine?
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What can traditional medicine learn from massage?
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What struggles do our students have?
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What struggles do our schools have?
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What are our common biases?
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How do we relate to the Wellness Industry?
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What do we owe the public?
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How do we relate to the Human Trafficking crisis?
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How do we solve the problems in our continuing education practices?
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Is there a higher percentage of learning disabilities in the massage profession? How can we adjust the traditionally able-ist education system to address it?
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What kind of research is happening? Is it helpful? Who is reading it? Who needs to read it?
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Licensing and all related arguments.