National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Name	National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Formed	1998
Preceding1	Office of Alternative Medicine
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	Bethesda, Maryland
Chief1 name	Director
Parent agency	National Institutes of Health

Contents

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is a United States federal research agency component focused on complementary and alternative medicine and integrative health approaches, located within the National Institutes of Health complex in Bethesda, Maryland. It evolved from predecessors established during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and was influenced by advocacy from figures associated with Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, Herbal medicine proponents, and policy debates during the terms of Newt Gingrich and Howard Dean. The center operates alongside institutes such as the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute on Drug Abuse and interacts with regulators like the Food and Drug Administration and legislators on Capitol Hill including members of the United States Congress and committees such as the House Committee on Appropriations.

History

The center traces origins to the Office of Alternative Medicine created under the National Institutes of Health umbrella and was reconstituted in 1998 amid bipartisan legislative action involving sponsors from the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, influenced by advocates including Andrew Weil, proponents tied to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine nomenclature, and stakeholders from institutions like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. Its founding occurred during the administration of Bill Clinton and followed policy debates involving the Food and Drug Administration and congressional hearings attended by critics from American Medical Association panels and supporters such as representatives of the American Botanical Council and university centers at Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, and University of California, San Francisco. Over subsequent decades directors appointed within the National Institutes of Health leadership structure navigated interactions with research funders like the National Science Foundation, health systems including Kaiser Permanente, and professional societies such as the American College of Physicians.

The center's stated mission aligns with priorities set by the National Institutes of Health director and strategic plans influenced by panels including members from Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine), clinician-scientists from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and patient advocacy groups such as associations tied to arthritis and fibromyalgia communities, collaborating with agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and international bodies including the World Health Organization. Its organizational structure includes divisions overseeing basic science, clinical science, and public liaison functions that coordinate with extramural partners at universities like Columbia University, Yale School of Medicine, and Duke University, as well as intramural programs interacting with laboratory groups at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Leadership reports to NIH senior officials and works with advisory councils comprising academics from University of Michigan Medical School, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and representatives from nonprofit funders such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Research programs are funded through grant mechanisms common to the National Institutes of Health, including R01 and R21 awards administered via peer review panels with experts from institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and international collaborators at centers like Karolinska Institutet and University of Oxford. Funding priorities have supported studies on modalities associated with acupuncture, massage therapy, herbal medicine formulations studied in trials at Harvard Medical School affiliates and mechanistic work involving researchers from MIT and Scripps Research. The center has issued program announcements affecting clinical networks at pediatric centers such as Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and integrative programs at academic medical centers like UCLA Health and Mount Sinai Health System, while coordinating with federal programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs and grant recipients including nonprofit organizations like the American Cancer Society.

Clinical trials funded or overseen have ranged from multicenter randomized controlled trials involving investigators at Stanford University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and University of Washington to systematic evidence syntheses conducted in partnership with groups such as the Cochrane Collaboration and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The center maintains registries and collaborates with trial infrastructure linked to ClinicalTrials.gov and data standards used by National Library of Medicine, publishing results in journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and The Lancet via investigators from University College London and Imperial College London. Evidence reviews have informed clinical guidelines produced by specialty societies such as the American College of Rheumatology and influenced policy deliberations in agencies like the World Health Organization.

Policy engagement involves interactions with regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and advisory roles in congressional briefings to committees including the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while public outreach includes partnerships with media outlets like NPR, The New York Times, and educational collaborations with nonprofit groups such as the National Center for Health Statistics and patient advocacy organizations like the American Diabetes Association. The center's communications staff coordinates with academic press offices at Yale University and University of California, San Diego and contributes to public health messaging alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Criticism has come from medical skeptics associated with groups such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and commentators in outlets like Science and Nature, with disputes over funding priorities raised by investigators at Johns Hopkins University and policy analysts at the Brookings Institution and Cato Institute. Controversies have included debates over study design highlighted by editors at The Lancet Oncology and watchdog reporting in ProPublica, disputes involving herbal product regulation with stakeholders like the United States Pharmacopeia, and exchanges with professional organizations such as the American Medical Association and advocacy groups including Consumers Union.