The REOP research project – Relationship and Expectations of Osteopaths, Patients and their Relatives – addresses a central aspect of osteopathy: the rapport established in the individual interaction between practitioners and patients. The study examines, on the one hand, the expectations that patients and their relatives have of an osteopathic consultation and, on the other hand, the assumptions made by osteopaths regarding the expectations of patients and their relatives.

The focus is on the following aspects: the expectations of patients and their relatives (e.g. parents regarding their children) regarding an osteopathic consultation; the perception of the treatment itself; the involvement of parents in their child’s treatment; and the provision of information before, during and after the treatment. Furthermore, the study analyses the extent to which these dimensions differ depending on the patients’ age and how osteopaths assess their patients’ experience of the treatment. The research design developed for this purpose aims to systematically compare the perspectives of practitioners and patients in order to gain a comprehensive picture of both viewpoints.

The research project follows a mixed-methods design comprising five phases of sub-studies that build upon one another. The research topic will be investigated using qualitative and quantitative studies, which will be conducted in parallel and sequentially.

The research project is being carried out at Witten/Herdecke University (UWH) at the Chair of Medical Theory, Integrative and Anthroposophical Medicine under the supervision of the Head of the Institute and Chair, Prof. Dr med. David Martin. The study is being conducted by Jonas Manschel (research assistant at the Chair) with the support of Assoc. Prof. Jan Porthun at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).