This survey is for AIMA and ACNEM members it seeks to clarify what our members think about the two organisations working more collaboratively together.
The survey is being conducted by Professor Stephen P Myers from the NatMed Research Unit, in the Office of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Southern Cross University in collaboration with Cressida Hall (CEO AIMA) and Andrea Lott (CEO ACNEM) and the Boards of the two organisations. Professor Myers is a fellow of ACNEM and a current member of the ACNEM board and has worked closely with AIMA.
The results of the survey will be presented to a joint meeting of the AIMA and ACNEM Boards and used for strategic planning. Some of the results may inform journal articles about IM and NEM.
Definitions used to inform the survey
For the purpose of this survey the following definitions for integrative medicine (IM); and nutritional and environmental medicine (NEM) are used.
Integrative Medicine: Integrative medicine is a philosophy of healthcare with a focus on individual patient care. It combines the best of conventional western medicine with evidence-based complementary medicine and therapies. Integrative Medicine reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, health care professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing. It takes into account the physical, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing of the person with the aim of using the most appropriate, safe and evidence-based treatments available.
Nutritional and Environmental Medicine: Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (NEM) is concerned with the interaction of nutritional and environmental factors with human biochemistry and physiology, and the resulting physiological and psychological symptoms and pathology. It is commonly referred to as integrative medicine and/or functional medicine. NEM is evidence-based, drawing on the latest biomedical and genetic science and research to develop new treatment approaches to illness and disease, for primary prevention and to promote optimal health and well-being.
Nutritional deficiencies, imbalances, or the presence of environmental toxins in the body can result in cellular dysfunction, illness or disease. Treatment is aimed at correcting underlying causes as well as providing symptomatic relief. This may involve removal of certain foods from the diet or toxins from the patient’s environment, or prescription of supplements such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements and essential fatty acids where diet and lifestyle alone cannot rectify physiological imbalances.