Nature As Medicine: Mind, Body, and Soil.

Debate over the evidence supporting integrative care interventions not infrequently references the challenges funding research on natural agents and practices that are not patentable. The subject of this column goes to the mother of all such interventions, nature herself. Yet in this case, the authors report an awakening of research that affirms nature's power in health and well-being.

Pilot validation of a self-report outcome measure of complementary and alternative medicine.

Background: We previously developed a multidomain, self-report outcome measure relevant to a wide range of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies. We report the results of a pilot study to validate the measure.

Methods: Fifty-two patients (60% female, mean age, 53 years) seeking services from CAM providers completed a battery of measures prior to a scheduled visit.

Developing a self-report outcome measure for complementary and alternative medicine.

Objective: Our objective was to develop a pilot measure of subjective outcomes of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Current options for assessing subjective outcomes in CAM are either too burdensome or fail to represent diverse outcomes. A single measure specifying common, patient-reported outcomes of CAM would be of value.