Center for Health Optimization & Implementation Research

Special Issue on Effectiveness, Implementation and Dissemination Research in Integrative Health

A new special issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM) on “Effectiveness, Implementation and Dissemination Research in Integrative Health” features articles by CHOIR researchers. This issue showcases how research on many complementary and integrative health (CIH) practices has moved beyond efficacy studies to progress further along the implementation and dissemination pipeline. In one article, CHOIR Director Barbara Bokhour, PhD, and colleagues examined the impact of a peer-led group program for Veteran engagement and wellbeing, and found that Veterans who participated had a significant decrease in perceived stress, and significant improvements were seen in their mental health and quality of life. CHOIR investigator Rendelle Bolton, PhD, Candidate, and colleagues conducted interviews with more than 40 VA healthcare organization leaders and found that leaders’ provision of support for CIH in early-adopting healthcare facilities was driven by considerations at multiple levels of health care organizations, such as individual perceptions and experiences, organizational concerns, and system level influences.

The research in this special issue will help researchers and policy decision-makers understand the optimal uses of CIH. Guest editors for this special issue included CHOIR investigator A. Rani Elwy, PhD.