A systematic review of communication about Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) in global biomedical settings

Abstract

Objectives: A systematic review to analyze communication rates of complementary and integrative health (CIH) and analyze how communication terms, such as "disclosure," are measured and operationalized.

Methods: We searched seven databases for studies published between 2010 and 2018 with quantitative measurements of patients' communication of CIH to a biomedical clinician. We analyzed communication terms used to describe patients reporting CIH usage. We also examined the conceptual and operational definitions of CIH provided and whether those terms were explicitly operationalized. We aggregated the percentage, rate, or ratio of CIH users that communicated about CIH with their clinicians by disease type and geographical region.

Results: 7882 studies were screened and 89 included in the review. Studies used a wide range of conceptual and operational definitions for CIH, as well as 23 different terms to report communication related to reporting CIH usage. Usage varied by disease type and geographical region.

Conclusions: Studies of CIH and CIH communication may measure different kinds of social and communicative phenomena, which makes comparison across international studies challenging.

Practice implications: Future studies should employ standardized, replicable measures for defining CIH and for reporting CIH communication. Clinicians can incorporate questions about prior, current, and future CIH use during the medical visit.

Keywords: Communication terms; Complementary health; Disclosure; Discussion; Integrative health.