Complementary and Integrative Health

Complementary and Integrative Health

Complementary and integrative health (CIH) practices, while not currently part of conventional medical care, are often used in combination with standard medical treatments. These approaches generally fall into two main categories: natural products (such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) and mind-body practices (such as yoga, meditation, massage therapy, acupuncture, and mindfulness). Complementary approaches are used in addition to conventional medicine, typically to treat specific conditions such as PTSD or chronic pain. “Integrative health” incorporates both complementary and traditional practices in a coordinated approach that treats the whole person, rather than specific symptoms or diseases.

HSR’s CIH research examines how evidence-based CIH approaches are organized, delivered, and funded within the VA system. Focus areas include safety and effectiveness, cost, patient preferences and utilization patterns, and implementation in clinical settings.

Each section below is populated by a search of the HSR website. Search results are generated based on the search term " Complementary and Integrative Health" . Results are updated as new data are available.

Citations

(recent COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH publications)

Zeliadt SB, Coggeshall SS, Bokhour B, Elwy AR, Kligler B, Der-Martirosian C, Rosser EW, Shin M, Toyama J, Upham ML, Zhang X, Taylor SL. Adding Self-Care Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) Therapies to Care for Chronic Pain-The Assessing Pain, Patient Reported Outcomes and Complementary Health (APPROACH) Study. Medical care. 2026 Mar 2 DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000002295.
Zeng S, Coggeshall SS, Rosser EW, Taylor SL, Burgess DJ, Luo G, Zeliadt SB. The Role of Whole Health in Enhancing Tobacco Cessation Outcomes for Veterans: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Journal of general internal medicine. 2025 Dec 19 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-025-10063-1.
Medich M, Shin MH, McGowan MG, Kasom DR, Lott B, Zeliadt SB, Taylor SL. Patient Reports on How Well Combining Provider-Delivered and Self-Directed Complementary and Integrative Health Therapies Help Their Health and Well-Being. Global advances in integrative medicine and health. 2025 Dec 13; 14:27536130251390862, DOI: 10.1177/27536130251390862.
Etingen B, Douglas JH, Coggeshall S, Reed DE, Engel CC, Hogan TP, Rosser E, Bokhour BG, Zeliadt SB. Use of whole health care is associated with increased completion of evidence-based psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans receiving care within the Veterans Health Administration. Journal of traumatic stress. 2025 Oct 24 DOI: 10.1002/jts.70013.
Flike K, St Pierre C, Howard A, Tsai J. Perceptions of the Impact and Utility of Battlefield Acupuncture Among Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Qualitative Pilot Study. Global advances in integrative medicine and health. 2025 Aug 17; 14:27536130251369534, DOI: 10.1177/27536130251369534.

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Publication Briefs

(recent COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH Publication Briefs )

VA/HSR&D Research on Complementary and Integrative Health Therapies within VA
Funded by HSR&D, this special issue of Medical Care highlights how research on complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies in the VA healthcare system has progressed along the QUERI (Quality Enhancement Research Initiative) Implementation Roadmap – from pre-implementation to implementation to sustainment. CIH approaches are becoming more available throughout VA, due to: 1) increased imple...
Date: September 1, 2020
Many VA Patients Use and are Interested in Learning More about Complementary and Integrated Health Options
In part to guide the expansion of evidence-based complementary and integrative health (CIH), VA leaders sought current information on Veterans’ interest in and use of various CIH approaches, both inside and outside the VA healthcare system. Thus, investigators in this study analyzed survey results from a large sample of Veterans on their interest in, use of, and satisfactions with 26 CIH approache...
Date: April 22, 2019
Women Veterans with Pain More Likely to Use Complementary and Integrative Therapies
This study sought to examine complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapy use by gender among Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain, and variations in gender differences by race/ethnicity and age. Findings showed that of Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain, more women than men used CIH therapies (36% vs. 26%). Black women, regardless of age, were least likely to use CIH therapies...
Date: September 1, 2018

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Studies

(recent COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH projects )

Project No.	Title	PI	Funding End
RCS 23-082	HSR&D Research Career Scientist Award	Taylor, Stephanie	2028-09-30
IIR 22-221	Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches to Improve TBI Outcomes in Veterans	Zeng, Qing	2028-08-31
CDA 21-208	Optimizing the Implementation of Whole Health Coaching for Veterans with COPD	Anderson, Ekaterina	2028-08-31
PPO 23-106	Leveraging VA National Data, Expert Consensus, and Veteran Input to Develop and Refine a Pragmatic Trial Protocol Comparing Integrated Interventions to Address Co-Occurring Pain and PTSD in Veterans	Seal, Karen	2026-12-31
IIR 20-242	Self-Administered Acupressure for Veterans with Chronic Back Pain: A Multisite Evaluation of Effectiveness and Implementation	Krein, Sarah	2026-05-31

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HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters

Examining VA Leadership Support for Complementary and Integrative Health Therapies (11-09-2021)

HSR&D Research Briefs (07-18-2018)

Evidence Brief: The Comparative Effectiveness of Selected Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) Interventions for Preventing or Reducing Opioid Use in Adults with Chronic Neck, Low Back, and Large Joint Pain (04-08-2016)

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Cyberseminars The most recent " Complementary and Integrative Health" seminars are displayed.
Date	Title	Presenter(s)
4/16/2026	Non-Pharmacologic Approaches to Care: Updated Evidence Maps for Tai Chi/Qigong and Medical Massage Therapy	Whitehead, Alison Shekelle, Jeanette Olson, Juli Mak, Selene
10/24/2024	Survey of Reasons Veterans Don’t Use Complementary and Integrative Health Services	Black, Anne
7/18/2024	Can Implementing a Whole Health System Facilitate Uptake of CIH for Chronic Pain? It Depends!	Bolton, Rendelle
5/16/2024	Complementary and Integrative Health for Chronic Pain and PTSD: An Overview of Recent Systematic Reviews	Zaccari, Belle
4/18/2024	What is ‘Nutritional Functioning’? Redefining Food Insecurity and Identifying New Avenues of Integrative Care	Whitham, Diana
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Videos

There are currently no videos for this topic.

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Podcasts

There are currently no podcasts for this topic.

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Other Resources

Visit the VA Office of Research and Development’s complementary and integrative health topic page to see selected CIH highlights and publications.
Learn more about VA’s Integrative Health Coordinating Center or download their fact sheet.
Search all VA research studies to find more investigations into complementary and integrative health.

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Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.

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