Concept Of Integrative Medicine Research Articles

The Clinic for Integrative Medicine in Essen, Germany

In integrative medicine (IM) the basic concept is the combination of mainstream with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) supposedly leading to synergistic therapeutic effects. In an extended version the methods of Mind/Body Medicine (MBM) are also added. A recent survey screening the German population concerning their preferences for cam, mainstream medicine or combining both of them (IM) showed that most Germans were in favour of integrative medicine. This shows the development of a new understanding of medicine in Germany. In 1999 the first hospital for Internal and Integrative Medicine with 54 beds was established at the Teaching Hospital Kliniken Essen-Mitte as a model institution of the county North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In October 2004, after a 5-year period of scientific evaluation by the university board, the first German Chair for Complementary and Integrative Medicine was founded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach-Foundation at the University Clinic Duisburg-Essen. In this model institution Western trained doctors specialized in CAM as well as mind–body instructors offering Mind–Body Medicine (MBM) are working together. Besides the task of teaching students the Chair and institution is focussing on clinical and basic research on Traditional European and Chinese Medicine as well as Mind–Body Medicine. Besides that an intensive program evaluating the outcome of more than 2500 patients, who have been treated during the past 5 years has been established. The stay in the hospital is paid by all German insurance companies for patients. In the talk the concept of Integrative Medicine in a regular hospital setting combining Complementary Medicine and Mainstream Medicine will be introduced. Indications and expected benefits, for in-patients, day-care in-patients and out-patients will be discussed.

Integrative Medicine – Medicine of the future or ‘Old Wine in New Skins’?

In Integrative Medicine (IM) the basic concept is the combination of mainstream with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) supposably leading to synergistic therapeutic effects. In an extended version the methods of Mind/Body Medicine (MBM) are also added. As this is a new concept, changing the approach towards illness, while adding more instruments to the therapeutic ‘toolbox’, IM might represent the beginning of a paradigm shift in modern medicine. The concept of Integrative Medicine is discussed here in detail by reviewing its scope and implications for the practice of medicine.

Mind-body medicine as a part of German integrative medicine

Mind-body medicine (MBM) as a holistic approach to health and healing has been shaped by research into stress physiology and stress psychology, by psychoneuro(endocrino)immunology and by Antonovsky's salutogenetic paradigm. MBM seeks to acknowledge physical, psychological as well as social and spiritual aspects of human beings. MBM constitutes one of the traditions, which the emerging field of integrative medicine in Germany draws upon, others being mainstream medicine, traditional European naturopathy and non-European methods like traditional Chinese medicine. The article outlines historical aspects of MBM, gives a brief review of research evidence, and introduces clinical MBM institutes in Germany. Especially the Clinic and Chair of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation at the University Duisburg-Essen has been integrating MBM into the concept of integrative medicine. Considering that a growing number of health issues arises due to maladaptive lifestyles, MBM is being identified as a development that supports a shift from increasingly expensive treatments to more cost-effective preventive approaches.

Antibiomedicine belief and integrative health seeking in Taiwan

The newly emerged concept of integrative medicine may provoke a closer investigation into the pattern of biomedicine use in the context of medical pluralism. In this study, I propose two concepts to examine the complicated cognitive and behavioural responses to biomedicine (Western medicine, xi-yi) in relation to the use of non-biomedical therapies in Taiwan, a society with renowned medical pluralism. Data came from a nation-wide telephone survey conducted during September 2002 among community-resident population aged 20 and older. The sample includes 1517 respondents. The first concept—antibiomedicine—includes three indicators to measure an individual's negative stance on xi-yi: overall competence, capability to cure from within, and side effects. Combined, these three indicators were further constructed into a single composite index: antibiomedicine beliefs. Integrative health seeking tackled two aspects of health seeking: selective use and adaptive use. The former concerns particularly the use of specific ingredients of biomedicine. In this study, emphasis was placed on the diagnosis versus treatment of xi- yi. The latter was focussed on the strategic uses of xi-yi in the face of its limitation and incompetence. Three types of adaptive health use were identified: alternative type, complementary type, and exclusive type. Results of the analyses indicate that antibiomedicine belief held explanatory potential to selective use and adaptive use of xi-yi. The study sheds light on further exploring the blending of health-seeking practices and “hybrid” medicine. It is suggested that novel explanatory constructs and more sophisticated study designs should be developed to articulate the sequential of pluralistic health-seeking process.