OA12.04. The role of mind-body awareness in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) outcomes

Purpose Body awareness attending to, and identifying the inner sensations and overall state of the body and its changes in response to emotional and environmental shifts is often viewed as an outcome of CAM use. Emerging evidence suggests that mind-body awareness may be an intermediate outcome that contributes to CAM-related outcomes. Qualitative and quantitative work indicate that provider empowerment and support may facilitate the development of mind-body awareness associated with CAM use. Consistent with a whole systems research perspective, the aim of the current study was to test a model of mind-body awareness as an intermediate outcome of CAM use via provider autonomy support that facilitates improvements in self-reported symptoms and health behavior changes.