Integrative Medicine Is a Good Prescription for Patients and Planet
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Aterah Z. Nusrat, Iman Majd, and Peter M. Wayne. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Published Online: 16 December 2019.
Osher Collaborative Forum: Outlooks, Opinions and Opportunities
This is the sixth column of the JACM/Osher Collaborative partnership.
Click here to read the full article.
Aterah Z. Nusrat, MSc, Program Director, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Iman Majd, MD, MS, EAMP/LAc, Director of the Osher Clinical Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Washington
Peter M. Wayne, PhD, Interim Center Director and Research Director, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Excerpt:
“…in this brief commentary, the authors propose that the integrative medicine model is particularly well positioned to support health care professionals and health care systems in addressing the climate crisis. Integrative health emphasizes lifestyle and behavior change and a biopsychosocial approach fostering interconnections between mind, body, spirit, and social and physical environments. Fundamental strategies and premises underlying integrative medicine have the potential to directly and indirectly positively impact the environment. The authors highlight three specific strategies: An emphasis on prevention that decreases the burden on the energy-intensive health care system; provision of tools for self-regulation that might lead to “lower carbon happiness” and environmentally friendly lifestyles; and practices that have the potential to enhance prosocial and proenvironmental behavior.”