NCCIH Will Take “Whole Person” Approach in New Strategic Plan

In a significant move, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) integrative health branch, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), is embarking on a strategic plan that will embrace a whole-person approach. The new plan will, among other things, tackle health disparities and address the problem of misinformation about complementary and integrative health approaches.  

The NCCIH was created more than two decades ago to study complementary and alternative health practices. Throughout its history, it has expanded scientific knowledge on these practices and promoted the integration of evidence-based complementary therapies with conventional medicine.

Now, the NCCIH is looking ahead with a four-year plan, says Helene Langevin, MD, director of the NCCIH: “Much progress has been made in the research areas that form the NCCIH portfolio since our last strategic plan was released, and we are now ready to integrate this knowledge into a whole person approach.”

A main objective of the new plan is to advance research on complementary approaches to improve health outcomes. This will involve improving research methods and understanding the complex mechanisms of these approaches in real-world situations. The NCCIH aims to understand why people make the health choices they do—both positive and negative—and learn how these choices impact long- and short-term health.

The NCCIH will develop a more diverse team of integrative health scientists and researchers, while also focusing on diverse populations to better support minority health and eliminate health disparities.

The plan recognizes the problem of widespread misinformation on complementary and integrative health and commits to disseminating evidence-based information in such a way to enhance the public’s understanding and improve decision making.

The NCCIH will set research priorities that reflect public health needs as well as scientific promise, and will collaborate with other federal agencies and professional groups to more broadly understand and address the health needs of the public.