Since Congress established the National Center for Complementary Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) as a branch of the National Institutes of Health in 1998, the funded research has generated evidence boosting the reputation of selected complementary integrative therapies (CIT). Even before Congress established the NCCAM, alternative treatments were common options for many patients. Use among patients continues to grow as well as expansion of CIT models of treatment.
Despite the greater emphasis on research and the ever-widening role of CIT in health care, there is insufficient overall scientific evidence via randomized clinical trials (RCTs). It is argued that RCT, although the gold standard for scientific rigor, may not always be a compatible paradigm for methods most applicable to studying the efficacy of CIT. When indicated, it is recommended that research in CIT utilize RCT methods; however, other methodological paradigms may be more appropriate in capturing outcome-related experiences and nonobjective data, common to many CIT therapies (Iyioha, 2011).
One review of the literature examining the evidence for the efficacy of mind-body practices in assisting with smoking cessation indicates positive CIT outcomes (Carim-Todd, Mitchell, & Oken, 2013). Although clinicians incorporate CIT in their care of patients by varying degrees, many consider their usefulness a key part of treatment for health promotion and maintenance as well as for those who experience chronic health problems.
It is clear that CIT is widely used as an adjunct for treatment of a variety of health problems. Although the evidence for the usefulness of CIT depends in part on the therapy employed, quality of research, circumstances of use, and the ability to control for intervening variables, it is still a useful adjunct to conventional therapies as long as patient safety is not jeopardized. While we continue to systematically investigate the effectiveness of CIT, we can certainly continue to incorporate safe CIT modalities in our practice as long as desired and perceived as helpful by the patients we serve.
Suzan Blacher, MSN, RN, CARN, is a clinical assistant professor of nursing at College of Nursing & Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. She holds a Post-Master's Certificate of Advanced Study in Complementary Integrative Therapies from Drexel University. She is a Level 2 Healing Touch Practitioner and a Level 1 Reiki Practitioner. She was instrumental in the creation of the Certificate of Advanced Study in Integrative Addiction Therapies at Drexel where she teaches a course in holistic self-care.
Ms. Blacher is a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse and a tobacco treatment specialist. In 2014, she was awarded a grant from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association for her project "An Adolescent Tobacco Dependence Intervention and Cessation Program."
Ms. Blacher consults as a Life Skills Educator at various treatment programs in South Florida and is Vice Chair of the Addiction Nursing Certification Board for the International Nurses Society on Addictions.
Albert A. Rundio, Jr., PhD, DNP, RN, CARN-AP, APRN, NEA-BC, DPNAP, FIAAN, is an experienced clinician, administrator, and educator. As Associate Dean for Post-Licensure Nursing Programs & Continuing Nursing Education at Drexel University, he oversees the Complementary and Integrative Therapies track, one of the graduate paths under his direction. In addition to his administrative and teaching roles, he practices part-time in a residential chemical dependency treatment center where he implements CIT in his practice as a nurse practitioner.
He is a consultant to the American Nurses Credentialing Center, serves on the Editorial Board, and is Editor of the Health Policy Watch column for the Journal of Addictions Nursing; and he recently completed his term as President of the International Nurses Society on Addictions.
Dr. Rundio was awarded the Governor's Nursing Merit Award for Advanced Practice Nursing in New Jersey in 1999 by Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey. He received the DON award from the Institute Foundation of Nursing on October 24, 2012, for positively impacting nursing in New Jersey and was inducted as a Fellow in the International Academy of Addiction Nursing in 2014.
Dr. Rundio is a prolific writer; highlighted by the following: He co-authored the Nurse Executive Review and Resource Manual, 1st and 2nd Editions, published by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. He wrote the Nurse Manager's Guide for Budgeting & Finance published by STTI. Moreover, most recently, he authored the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Executive Role and is co-editor of the current revision of the Core Curriculum of Addiction Nursing, both in press with LWW.
We are pleased to have these two accomplished leaders in nursing and CIT, guest editing this special topic issue for the Journal.
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