Development of a traditional Chinese medicine taxonomy for Embase

Session: 

Oral session: Searching and information retrieval (3)

Date: 

Tuesday 18 September 2018 - 14:50 to 15:00

Location: 

Carrick 2

All authors in correct order:

Hu R1, Li X1, Li X2, Mensonides F3, Krstic I3, Liu J1, Fei Y1
1 Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China
2 School of Humanities, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China
3 Embase, Elsevier Information Systems GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany
Presenting author and contact person

Presenting author:

Ruixue Hu

Contact person:

Ruixue Hu
Yutong Fei
Abstract text
Background:
As global interest in traditional and complementary medicine grows, the need to search online information, especially subscription databases, is increasing. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) market is currently valued at 121 billion USD. Searching and retrieving TCM evidence outside China remains a challenge. In October 2017, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) and the Embase team from Elsevier agreed to work together to facilitate comprehensive and efficient searching of TCM literature by enriching Emtree, the main Embase taxonomy. This covers a broad range of biomedical subjects with TCM content.

Objectives:
To create a new taxonomy for TCM to enhance the existing Emtree and facilitate more comprehensive and accurate TCM literature searching in Embase.

Methods:
We set up a working group including five specialists from BUCM and two experts from Embase. The BUCM team are professors of evidence-based Chinese medicine and TCM medical English, three of whom are registered TCM practitioners. The Embase team are managers of Emtree. BUCM postgraduate students also volunteered and Embase provided online training. Integrating TCM-specific characteristics, the BUCM team drafted a protocol based on the Embase standards, which was revised by the Embase team until agreement was reached.

Results:
We developed methods for building TCM Emtree. TCM concepts will be integrated to the existing concept-based Emtree taxonomy structure. We integrated terms and structures from six international standards or dictionaries, including WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific Region, WHO ICD-11 Beta Draft (TCM chapter) and four other references. Preferred labels (the most frequent terms), alternative labels (synonyms) and broader-narrower relationships will be assigned. The taxonomy will be provided in English and researchers also can search the spelling of Chinese characters (pinyin).

Conclusion:
About 6000 terms are to be added. The TCM taxonomy will be online in 2019. It aims to be the most comprehensive taxonomy for TCM in English databases.

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
Researchers have been interested in TCM. TCM practitioners and patients are users. They were consulted when developing the protocol and will be involved when assigning the preferred labels and branches.

Attachments: 

Image icon Figure 1 Structure of TCM taxonomy in Emtree.jpg
Image icon Figure 2 Information sources for building TCM taxonomy in Emtree.jpg

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

Patients look for medical evidence online. As one of the most developed traditional medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contributes huge amount of valuable unique medical ideas (like Yin Yang), therapies (like acupuncture) and medicine (more than 2000 herbs). Searching TCM literature is challenging without well-developed searching strategies. Embase is the most comprehensive biomedicine database. Building TCM taxonomy will make it easy to search TCM contents. This will benefit not only researchers who are interested in TCM, but also patients who need complementary and alternative treatments, and are looking for TCM knowledge.