Source

Complementary,
Alternative, or
Integrative Health:
What's In a Name?
(2015, January 28).
Retrieved February 17,
2015, from
https://nccih.nih.gov/h
ealth/whatiscam#cvsa

USE FOR
ADVERTISEMENT
(CHART)

Are You Considering

Complementary Health
Approaches? (2006,
December 1). Retrieved
February 9, 2015, from
https://nccih.nih.gov/heal
th/decisions/consideringc
am.htm

Statistics on
Complementary and
Integrative Health
Approaches. (2015,
January 21). Retrieved
February 9, 2015,
from
https://nccih.nih.gov/r
esearch/statistics

Annotation
The specific part of this website titled Health Info provides
definitions and basic information regarding complementary and
alternative medicine. Complementary medicine versus alternative
medicine is first elaborated. This information is imperative to
understand because many confuse the definitions of these
different types of medicine. Statistics and examples are provided
to further define these different types of medicine. The NCCIH
(National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
provides this information as a precursor for further research
regarding these areas of medicine. Statistics of surveys are
included such as, According to the 2007 National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS), which included a comprehensive survey on the use
of complementary health approaches by Americans, 17.7 percent
of American adults had used a nonvitamin/nonmineral natural
product in the past year. Opinions and facts are also shown on
this page of the website providing information from experiments
and studies. An example of this is, Some of these products have
been studied in large, placebo-controlled trials, many of which
have failed to show anticipated effects. Research on others to
determine whether they are effective and safe is ongoing. While
there are indications that some may be helpful, more needs to be
learned about the effects of these products in the human body and
about their safety and potential interactions with medicines and
with other natural products. This particular section of the website
also even further goes into detail about the actual methods used
in different forms of medicine as well as statistics and charts to
show different health approaches used in America.
This article still mentions some of the information from the previous article but
goes further into another direction of thinking from a patients point of view. It
is important to note that the audience of this article are patients considering
complementary medicine because of the information that is provided. The
author uses key points as sort of a step by step process for patients to use
when choosing certain health care options. Pros and Cons are intertwined
throughout information provided which elicit steps to follow to reach the goal
of choosing a treatment plan right for the patient. Concerns and precautions
are listed and elaborated upon in order to inform the reader of what should be
done before choosing a health care plan. This article defines the scientific
research put into complementary health approaches. After summarizing
different pros and cons of complementary medicine, the steps patients need
to take in order to choose a safe and reliable health care option are further
described in questions to ask. This setup provides a plan for further research.
Several studies and articles are posted in links throughout various portions of
this article as well. For example, If you decide to use a therapy that would be
given by a complementary health practitioner, such as naturopathy or
acupuncture, choose the practitioner carefully. (To learn more, see 6 Things
To Know When Selecting a Complementary Health Practitioner.)

Thoughts/Connectins
Although this information
seems basic compared to
interviews and other
forms of information,
getting down to the
basics of this research is
really what most of my
paper will be about in the
end. This section of the
site provides so much
information to help
support my opinion of
complementary medicine
as well as provide
necessary facts to back it
up.

This article is compiled of various experiments and surveys

providing information about complementary and alternative
medical use in America. The first survey titled The Interview
Survey was conducted by the CDCs (Center for Disease Control
and Prevention) National Center for Health statistics. Information
provided about the results of the survey were as follows, The
2007 NHIS gathered data from 23,393 completed interviews with
U.S. adults aged 18 years and over and 9,417 completed
interviews for U.S. children aged 017. The 2007 complementary
and alternative medicine (CAM) section included questions on 36
types of CAM therapies commonly used in the United States10
types of provider-based therapies, such as acupuncture and
chiropractic, and 26 other therapies that do not require a
provider, such as herbal supplements and meditation. The

This is an awesome
resource to use. Full of
statistics, facts, and
conclusions provided by
professionals to help
support the use of
complementary medicine
(provided by various
reliable government
agencies).

This is a great tool to use when

thinking from the patients
point of view. This article also
is a great Segway into more
information through links
provided throughout the text.

second survey titled National Health and Nutrition Examination

Survey documented the dietary supplement use among US
adults increasing. Results of this survey show that, Use of
dietary supplements is common among the U.S. adult population.
Over 40% used supplements in 19881994, and over one-half in
20032006. The third survey titled National Home and Hospice
Care Survey was conducted to provide information on home
health and hospice agencies. The results of this survey were
shown on a graph and in a report. The results shown were the
Percentage of hospice care providers offering complementary
and alternative therapies (CAT) 41.8% of hospice care providers,
22.9 provide both home health and hospice care, and 54% provide
only hospice care. The final survey listed was titled CAM and
People Aged 50+. This survey questioned whether people aged
50+ discuss the use of complementary and alternative medicine
with their health care providers. By reviewing the results,
researchers concluded the following: These findings highlight
the need for providers to ask about CAM use at every patient visit
and the need for people aged 50 and older to know that CAM use
is something that is important to discuss with their conventional
medical providers.

Complementary
And Alternative
Medicine Video.
(2013, January
29). Retrieved
February 17,
2015, from
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?
v=N9OhQkhFyck

In this video, Dr. Kelly McCann from Hoag Hospital

is interviewed and talks about her opinion of
complementary and alternative medicine. She
first defines each type of medicine, then focuses
on complementary and alternative medicine. She
talks about the different complementary medical
practices that people do not learn in med school.
Nutrition, supplements and herbs, acupuncture,
ayurvedic medicine, mind/body medicine, energy
medicine, and homeopathy can be blended with
conventional medicine to make integrated
medicine (complementary medicine). There are
many benefits of learning this type of medicine
along with conventional medicine. Benefits
include focusing on every part of the patientmind, body, and spirit recognizing that they have
an innate ability to heal. Next, she describes the
types of patients involved in integrated medicine.
McCann says, Many people come to integrated
medicine because they feel they have not fully
addressed their problems with conventional
medicine. In integrated medicine people can work
alongside doctors to choose what is best for the
patient. Patients range from people with cancer
or auto immune diseases that cannot be treated
to people in search of preventative medicine. It is
a natural and safe way to be used with
conventional medicine to help aid in a patients
health.

This video is a
great resource
because it is an
interview from a
Doctors point of
view.

Health Matters:

Naturopathic medicine focus on the underlying cause of disease

This video is a great

Complementary and

and treat by using natural medicine this goes hand and hand with

resource to hear patients

Alternative

the holistic approach (mind, body, and spirit). A lot of times these

ask questions and doctors

Medicine [Motion

doctors have patients that this form of treatment is their last resort.

respond. Stories are also

picture]. (2014). United

This type of medicine does not just fix people that are already sick

told from patients so

States of America:

they hope to prevent people from getting sick. As people become

many different people are

KSPS.

more aware of this type of medicine it is becoming accepted more.

giving their opinions about

Even the military uses acupuncturists to help soldiers that struggle

complementary medicine

https://www.youtube.co

with post-traumatic stress disorder. Acupuncture is a type of

who have actually been

m/watch?

modality that truly helps patients. MRIs can be used to show

through complementary

v=c1hwZWGSuNE

different parts of the brain that are stimulated while different areas

treatments.

are the body are acupunctured. People who use complementary

medicine are usually chronic pain patients or other patients in pain.
Vitamins are essential in this type of medicine. For instance,
vitamin D have been shown to prevent asthma and even some
cancers. An important thing to keep in mind when taking different
vitamins and herbs that the brand is medically certified (which
combines conventional medicine and alternative medicine).
Barnes, MA, P., PowellGriner, PhD, E.,
McFann, PhD, K., &
Nahin PhD, MPH, R.
(2004).
Complementary and
alternative medicine
use among adults:
United States, 2002.
InSeminars in
Integrative
Medicine (2nd ed., Vol.
2, pp. 54-71).
Washington, DC:
Institute for Integrative
Medicine Washington,
DC
http://www.sciencedire
ct.com/science/article/
pii/S154311500400038
9

Complementary &
Integrative Medicine.
(2015, January 1).
Retrieved March 16,
2015, from
http://www.mdanderso

In this book, there are different reports related to adults opinions

and usage of complementary medicine, alternative medicine, and
conventional medicine. The objective was described below:
This report presents selected estimates of complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM) use among U.S. adults, using data
from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted
by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Interviews of over 30,000
people took place with adults 18 and older. One of the results were
that The 10 most commonly used CAM therapies during the past
12 months were use of prayer specifically for ones own health
(43.0%), prayer by others for ones own health (24.4%), natural
products (18.9%), deep breathing exercises (11.6%), participation
in prayer group for ones own health (9.6%), meditation (7.6%),
chiropractic care (7.5%), yoga (5.1%), massage (5.0%), and dietbased therapies (3.5%). People were categorized to see what
type of people used CAM the most. However, results showed that
there was not much pattern when it came to sex, race,
geographic region, health insurance status, use of cigarettes or
alcohol, and hospitalization. CAM was most often used on
patients to treat back pain or back problems, head or chest colds,
neck pain or neck problems, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety or
depression. Another topic used in a survey was to see the amount
of people who used complementary medicine. Most of the people
did not just use alternative medicine. Adults age 18 years or over
who used CAM were more likely to do so because they believed
that CAM combined with conventional medical treatments would
help (54.9%) and/or they thought it would be interesting to try
(50.1%).
This website is a great transition for patients that have recently
been diagnosed with life threatening diseases. This information
could be used for the extreme case of my audience (last resort
treatment options). Although this information is a little more
serious that what I have intended for my research, it is still an
excellent source of information. Again, this website starts by

This book is a great

resource of statistics
shown graphically as well
as quotes and information
provided by doctors.

This was a turning point in

my research from the
different terms used to
describe various forms of
medicine. This is a great
source because of its

n.org/patient-andcancerinformation/cancerinformation/cancertopics/cancertreatment/complement
arymedicine/index.html

Horrigan, B. (2010, January 1).

Elements of Integrative Care (P.
Front, Ed.). Retrieved March 19,
2015, from
http://www.bravewell.org/integra
tive_medicine/integrative_care/

Lemley, B. (2015,
January 1). Balanced
Living. Retrieved
March 22, 2015, from
http://www.drweil.com/
drw/u/ART02054/Andre
w-Weil-IntegrativeMedicine.html

What is conventional
medicine? Healthcare Basics.
(2010, January 1).
Retrieved March 24,
2015, from
http://www.sharecar
e.com/health/healthcare-basics/what-isconventionalmedicine

defining the different types of medicine. This is the majority of the

information in this source. The next portion of this source contains
a description of what patients use complementary medicine for.
Patients may use complementary medicine for: prevention of
disease, managing symptoms, increasing wellness, and improving
treatment effectiveness. This is an important concept to notice
because many assume that alternative methods of
complementary/ integrative medicine are the ONLY methods to
follow. This assumption is untrue and the main reason for my
purpose to attempt to clarify in my research. The creators of this
website kept this in mind while trying to advocate their knowledge
to the patients reading this information.
This website is packed full of quotes. The focus is about complementary and integrative
medicine. The Bravewell Collaboratives mission statement is to turn health care and
improve the health of the public through integrative medicine. The spatial organization of
this website is the best I have seen throughout all my research so far. Tabs at the top margin
organize information from The Bravewell Collaborative or home page, Vision & Mission,
Integrative Medicine, Bravewell Initiatives, to Bravewell Publications. This website has
all of its information so well organized that it is a good source to use to quickly find exactly
what you are looking for. From quotes to research and reports, this is definitely an amazing
website to keep in mind when researching. This website could appeal to wide range of
various audiences. There is everything from information and research for doctors, to patients
looking to additional information. This is a great website for almost anyone that visits it.
This website was made for the same audience I have intended to
reach out to. Lemley uses the same tactics to appeal to his
audience that I have planned throughout the course of the
semester. Most of the controversy with integrative medicine is
because the definitions of different types of medicine are not
common knowledge for most people today. This article is full of
different sources of information. There is an array of information
packed into this article. From videos of doctors commenting on
integrative medicine, to quotes and lists of recommendations for
integrative medicine, this source is full of useful information. One
quote that stood out to me was by Dr. Weil. Enter integrative
medicine. As defined by the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health,
integrative medicine combines mainstream medical therapies and
CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific
evidence of safety and effectiveness. The previous quotation is
information from one of my previous sources. This article
continues by comparing and contrasting information about the
three different types of medicine.

reliability and amount of

articles for information to
be found.

This website is more of a blog site for professionals and

institutes to make comments. The question of inquiry for
this particular page is What is conventional medicine?
From this question arose various doctors and institutes to
give comments about anything to do with conventional
medicine. Professionals from MDs, nutritionists, to DOs all
have commented on conventional medicine. The
importance of these professionals making the comments is
that these comments will (most likely) be highly regarded to
the public because of the titles of the people making these
statements. Once there is a Dr. before a name or School
of Medicine in the title, the comment or information that
comes from that source is immediately respected (most of
the time). Many comments even relate to using
complementary medicine compared to using only
conventional methods. This site includes not only viable
quotes from reliable sources, but videos and articles
relating to the different types of medicine as well. The
purpose of my research is similar to that of this websites.

This website was most

helpful by taking
doctors points of view
and placing them into
the context of speaking
to (primarily) patients.
This, again, will be very
helpful when writing for
my audience.

This website is so well organized

that it could even be a good
example of how to organize my eportfolio. In relation to research, it is
packed full of useful resources.

This may be my most

helpful resource because
of its similarity to my
overall concept.

Under Healthcare Basics there is a mission statement

stating the following: From choosing the right doctors to
getting the right tests, how you manage your health care
can make a big difference in your long-term wellbeing.
Here's what you need to know to be a smart patient and a
strong self-advocate. Learn more from our experts about
healthcare.