Grant: Project Grant

Over half of Canadians and 1/3 of Americans use complementary medicine (CM) therapies that are not fully integrated into mainstream healthcare. While medical schools offer little CM-related training, increasing numbers of medical doctors (MDs) are incorporating CM therapies into clinical practice. In 2014, 'integrative medicine' (IM) - a movement to include CM in mainstream care - was formally recognized as a new medical specialty for Canadian and American doctors. Does IM represent a paradigm shift in medicine? Alternately, does IM being siloed as a new specialty limit CM's influence within medicine; or, are IM doctors co-opting CM therapies into the dominant medical paradigm? Little is known to date about the IM field, which raises major questions for sociologists, medical educators and policy makers. This is especially important in Canada, where institutional, educational and policy responses to IM lag behind the United States. This study aims to: 1. Assemble a critical sociological account of IM's emergence in North America; 2. Characterize the workforce, practices and worldviews of IM physicians in Canada and the United States; and 3. To critically interrogate the policies, pedagogies and professionalization strategies that have accompanied IM's recent ascent to legitimacy. Four primary data types will be analysed: a) a survey of integrative MDs in Canada and the US (n=4000); and b) key informant interviews (n=40) with IM physician leaders; c) policies governing MDs' use of CM therapies; and d) curricula from established IM fellowship trainings. The proposed project will culminate in a book for scholars and the public; while providing usable findings for policy makers, physicians, medical educators. Close attention will be paid to Canadian vs. US distinctions, as well as issues of gender, ethnicity/race, financial accessibility and worldview.