Assessing equity in integrative and traditional health approaches: an international scoping review
1
Family Medicine - Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities Program, 1 Boston Medical Center, Boston, United States
2
Family Medicine, 2 Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, United States
3
Eastern Medical Department, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, United States
4
Public Health, Everglades University, Boca Raton, United States
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Health equity and justice are cornerstones of public health. Incorporating processes that assess and promote equity in all aspects of health care has gained prominence in the past 25 years, affecting many disciplines including Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Health (TCIH) 1,2.
METHODS:
Following principles for conducting a scoping review 3,4, we searched for studies that addressed equity in TCIH using the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Redalyc, SciELO, LILACS, and Pubmed Español. Inclusion criteria included publication in a peer-reviewed journal; assessment of any type of TCIH in the context of equity; study used any of the following designs: randomized clinical trial, cohort study, health services research, or analyses of national datasets. Two authors independently reviewed each study. After selecting an initial set of articles that met our inclusion criteria, we examined the reference section of each article to determine the next set of potentially relevant articles. We continued this iterative process until numbers of newly identified articles fell below a certain threshold and the number of duplicate articles exceeded a predetermined limit. Our review is a work-in-progress and is continuing with our search of the non-English literature.
RESULTS:
Three hundred seventy-seven research studies were potentially eligible for our scoping review; 74 met our inclusion criteria and were from North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Main types of integrative and traditional approaches studied included: multi-modal approaches (33%+); mindfulness-based interventions (18%+); integrative medicine group visits (12%+); Asian and Ayurveda systems (11%+); Traditional/Indigenous approaches (11%+).
CONCLUSIONS:
Papers demonstrated that achieving equity is relevant and desirable in TCIH 5. The importance of assessing and promoting equity is evidenced in numerous types of TCIH throughout the world. Care can be culturally acceptable, clinically efficacious, supported by evidence, and contribute to health justice 6.
Health equity and justice are cornerstones of public health. Incorporating processes that assess and promote equity in all aspects of health care has gained prominence in the past 25 years, affecting many disciplines including Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Health (TCIH) 1,2.
METHODS:
Following principles for conducting a scoping review 3,4, we searched for studies that addressed equity in TCIH using the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Redalyc, SciELO, LILACS, and Pubmed Español. Inclusion criteria included publication in a peer-reviewed journal; assessment of any type of TCIH in the context of equity; study used any of the following designs: randomized clinical trial, cohort study, health services research, or analyses of national datasets. Two authors independently reviewed each study. After selecting an initial set of articles that met our inclusion criteria, we examined the reference section of each article to determine the next set of potentially relevant articles. We continued this iterative process until numbers of newly identified articles fell below a certain threshold and the number of duplicate articles exceeded a predetermined limit. Our review is a work-in-progress and is continuing with our search of the non-English literature.
RESULTS:
Three hundred seventy-seven research studies were potentially eligible for our scoping review; 74 met our inclusion criteria and were from North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Main types of integrative and traditional approaches studied included: multi-modal approaches (33%+); mindfulness-based interventions (18%+); integrative medicine group visits (12%+); Asian and Ayurveda systems (11%+); Traditional/Indigenous approaches (11%+).
CONCLUSIONS:
Papers demonstrated that achieving equity is relevant and desirable in TCIH 5. The importance of assessing and promoting equity is evidenced in numerous types of TCIH throughout the world. Care can be culturally acceptable, clinically efficacious, supported by evidence, and contribute to health justice 6.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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