Leadership and capacity building in international osteopathic research: Introducing Strengthening osteopathy leadership and research (SOLAR) program

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Research evidence has become the foundation of modern health services. Health professionals rely on sound research to provide safe and effective care for patients, for the development of innovative diagnostic and treatment practices and to develop policies supporting the provision of optimal healthcare. Osteopathy is an established profession with an emerging research evidence base. The Strengthening Osteopathic Leadership and Research (SOLAR) program is a recent international initiative aiming to further build the evidence base and research capacity of the osteopathy profession. The program was developed by The Australian Research Consortium in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM) at the University of Technology Sydney (Sydney, Australia) and funded primarily by Osteopathy Australia, with the support from the Osteopathic Foundation (UK), Osteopaths New Zealand (NZ), Unité Pour l’Ostéopathie (France), and Svenska Osteopatförbundet (Sweden). This paper describes the origins, objectives and features of the SOLAR program and outlines the importance of the program for future research and practice in the osteopathy profession. From its beginnings in 2022, to date, the SOLAR program has been highly successful, producing a substantial collection of concrete research and presentations, while enhancing the Fellows' capacity and confidence as leaders, both in osteopathy and the broader healthcare environment.