Abstract

The WHO’s new Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034 offers both a definition of integrative medicine and identifies one of four key strategic objectives for the strategy is to “integrate safe and effective TCIM into health systems.” The aim of this presentation is to stimulate discussion about research need to facilitate this objective. Integrative medicine is not a new concept. But like other terms in our field of research, it’s definition remains contested. This presentation provides a reflection on previous attempts to conceptualize and study integrative medicine and proposes a new framework for understanding and evaluating models of integration. By problematizing the underlying assumptions inherent in many definitions of integrative medicine, it is possible to compare and contrast different approaches to integrating TCIM into health systems around the world. The new framework provides common language and conceptual underpinnings to facilitate comparisons between the approaches in different countries and to enable a global conversation about what constitutes “good” approaches to integration. It also provides the foundation for dialogue about how to assess the impact of integrating TCIM into health systems.