Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37927333›Full record

ArticleIntegrative medicine research2023

The Brief History of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine Terminology and the Development and Creation of an Operational Definition.

Jeremy Y Ng, Tushar Dhawan, Renee-Gabrielle Fajardo, Hooriya A Masood, Samira Sunderji, L Susan Wieland, David Moher

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Integrative medicine research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
15.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Effects of Guided Imagery on Women's Health: A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Jeremy Y NgCentre for Journalology, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Tushar DhawanDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Renee-Gabrielle FajardoDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Hooriya A MasoodDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Samira SunderjiDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
L Susan WielandCenter for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
David MoherCentre for Journalology, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Impact · CAOttawa Hospital · CAUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · USUniversity of Ottawa · CA

Funding

Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field: Resource for ResearchR24AT001293 · NCCIH · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI BERMAN, BRIAN M, WIELAND, LISA SUSAN · 2003 to 2022
$9.4M
NCCIH NIH HHS R24 AT001293
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The definition of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (CAIM) remains dynamic and complex despite a steady increase in the popularity/usage of CAIM therapies across the globe. A lack of consistency in how these terms are defined remains a challenge for researchers, clinicians, and national and international organizations (e.g., World Health Organization, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) alike. In the present article, we provide a brief history of the use of these terminologies, and then outline the process we took to develop and create an operational definition of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine. Our operational definition is the first to be informed by a systematic search of four quality-assessed information resource types, ultimately yielding 604 unique CAIM therapies. We then developed a single search string for the most common bibliographic databases using the finalized operational definition list of CAIM therapies. These CAIM therapies were searched against the Therapeutic Research Center's "Natural Medicines" database for all 604 therapies, whereby each item's scientific name and/or synonym was included as a keyword or phrase in the search string. While the current definition is not without limitations and ongoing debates still surround the field, this work is arguably a steppingstone towards enabling increased collaboration and communication amongst healthcare clinicians, researchers, and the public. This operational definition provides a foundation for developing well-coordinated research efforts that will assist in the acceptance and understanding of this field, while also focusing on adopting knowledge translation techniques and efforts for further research advancement and use.

Indexed as

Bibliographic databaseComplementary and alternative medicineIntegrative medicineOperational definitionStandard of classification

Identifiers

PMID37927333
PMCPMC10623279
OpenAlexW4385337144

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.