Jeremy Y. Ng, MSc, PhD was the lead investigator for a study involving the development of the first operational definition of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (CAIM) informed by a systematic search of peer-reviewed and quality-assessed resources. The aim of this definition is to support the harmonization of CAIM-related research through the provision of a standard of classification, as well as support improved collaboration between different research groups. The published study detailing this operational definition can be found here:
- Ng JY, Dhawan T, Dogadova E, Taghi-Zada Z, Vacca A, Wieland LS & Moher D. (2022). Operational definition of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine derived from a systematic search. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-022-03556-7
In a second manuscript, a bibliographic database search string for CAIM based on this operational definition was developed, in order to standardize research involving systematic searches such as systematic reviews and bibliometric analyses. The published study can be found here:
- Ng JY, Dhawan T, Dogadova E, Taghi-Zada Z, Vacca A, Fajardo R-G, Masood HA, Patel R, Sunderji S, Wieland LS & Moher D. (2022). A comprehensive search string informed by an operational definition of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine for systematic bibliographic database search strategies. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-022-03683-1
This operational definition of CAIM has been adopted by the Cochrane Complementary Medicine group. More information can be found here: https://cam.cochrane.org/operational-definition-complementary-medicine
This operational definition of CAIM has been endorsed by the Research Council for Complementary Medicine group. More information can be found here: https://www.rccm.org.uk/what-is-cam/
Jeremy Y. Ng, MSc, PhD 