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Table 2 Characteristics of global naturopathic education, programs, and institutions

From: Characteristics of global naturopathic education, regulation, and practice frameworks: results from an international survey

 

N

%

Characteristics of naturopathic education according to WHO guidelines (n=65)

Minimum 1500 contact hours

55

84.6

Minimum 2 years length

49

75.4

Minimum 400 supervised clinical hours

47

72.3

All three guidelines met

41

63.1

No guidelines met

5

7.7

Characteristics of naturopathic educational programs (n=25)

 Program length

  2 years

4

16.0

  3 years

8

32.0

  4 years

12

48.0

 Program and Qualification type

  Vocational (Diploma or unspecified qualification level)

10

40.0

  Higher education

15

60.0

  Undergraduate bachelor’s degree [Australia, Brazil, NZ]

6

24.0

  Postgraduate qualification [Canada, Puerto Rico, South Africa, UK, USA]

9

36.0

 Qualification delivered by national qualifications’ framework

  aYes

17

68.0

  No

8

32.0

Characteristics of naturopathic educational institutions (n=25)

 For profit

15

60.0

 Not for profit

9

36.0

 State

1

4.0

Year educational institution first offered naturopathic program

 1956–1975

4

16.0

 1976–1995

5

20.0

 1996–2015

14

56.0

Characteristics of program audits (n=25)

 Schools reporting some type of external audit

  Yes

19

76.0

  No

6

24.0

 Organizations responsible for external auditsb

  Government

11

30.6

  Private

0

0.0

  Professional association

12

33.3

  Accrediting body

11

30.6

  Other

2

5.6

 External audit typec

  Governance/quality assurance

18

19.8

  Course content, delivery, and assessment

27

29.7

  Clinical processes

20

22.0

  Financial

17

18.7

  Other

9

9.9

Characteristics of organizational influence on naturopathic education (n=65)

 Perceived influence of organizations (other than educational institution) on delivery and content of education

  National Professional Association

49

75.4

  Regional Professional Association

13

20.0

  Accreditation Body

27

41.5

  Regulatory Board

22

33.8

  National Government

18

27.7

  Regional Government

6

9.2

  Other Health Professionals

14

21.5

  Third-Party Funders

13

20.0

  Multi-National Body

8

12.3

  1. aIncluded Italy based on UNI ISO standard; b.(n=19 [36 responses]); c.(n=24 [91 responses])