“Biologically Based Practices: An Overview” is one of five background papers on the major areas of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The series was prepared as part of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s (NCCAM’s) strategic planning efforts for the years 2005 to 2009. These brief reports should not be viewed as comprehensive or definitive reviews. Rather...

In Western countries, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is more and more provided by practitioners and family doctors. To base this reality of health care provision on an evidence-base, academic medicine needs to be included in the development. In the study we aimed to gain information on a structured approach to include CAM in academic health centers. We conducted a semistructured i...

“Energy Medicine: An Overview” is one of five background papers on the major areas of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The series was prepared as part of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s (NCCAM’s) strategic planning efforts for the years 2005 to 2009. These brief reports should not be viewed as comprehensive or definitive reviews. Rather, they are in...

In the past few decades, the public's use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has steadily increased. The term "integrative medicine" is often used to refer to the combination of CAM with conventional medicine. Many medical schools have incorporated didactic content on CAM and/or integrative medicine into their curricula. A frequently cited rationale for these course offerings is th...

“Energy Medicine: An Overview” is one of five background papers on the major areas of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The series was prepared as part of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s (NCCAM’s) strategic planning efforts for the years 2005 to 2009. These brief reports should not be viewed as comprehensive or definitive reviews. Rather, they are in...

Purpose The objective of this study was to determine the changes of attitudes, motivations, and perceptions of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Integrative Medicine (IM) before and after taking CAM/ IM related courses at University of California, Irvine. It was hypothesized that with more exposure and education in CAM/IM throughout the course student’s perceptions, attitudes and...

Some physicians have incorporated some forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or related medicinal products in their clinical practices, suggesting that an unconventional treatment approach might be seen as an integration rather than as an alternative to standard medical practice. Among the various CAMs, homeopathy enjoys growing popularity with the lay population, but it is not ...

Despite radical improvements in medicine over the past 60 years, patients maintain multiple health care pathways that include high utilization of unconventional treatments. The authors examine three possible relationships between mainstream and alternative medicine: opposition, integration, and pluralism. Opposition, the traditional ethical position that the medical profession must eradicate un...

Objective. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is prevalent. Concurrently, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with early detection techniques widely available. This paper examined the overlap between participation in allopathic breast cancer early detection activities and CAM use. Methods. A systematic review examined the association between breast screenin...