Researching the Science of Healing
July , 2013
Last week, Liz Szabo of USA Today presented a lengthy feature on complementary and alternative health care, largely framed around the publication of a new book by Paul Offit, M.D., Do You Believe in Magic. Both Szabo and Offit spend time of their work recounting issues surrounding false claims and a lack of scientific rigor in some aspects of complementary and alternative medicine.
Both writers are correct that it is crucial to establish an evidence base for any and all healing claims whether they are “conventional” or “alternative.” Unfortunately, too many claims in both systems of medicine have too little evidence to provide confidence in their claims. Fortunately, Samueli Institute has strived to provide the evidence for healing practices or more than a decade. It has now systematized that process in its Scientific Evaluation and Review of Claims in Healthcare (SEaRCH™). No longer does any health care practice need to rely on magic.
Since 2001, Samueli Institute researchers have published nearly 600 peer-reviewed journal articles providing new data in both basic science and clinical findings as summarizing current evidence by doing rigorous systematic reviews on the effectiveness of modalities such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, healing touch, and mindfulness to aide with pain relief, stress management, and resilience.
Our collaborations with the United States Armed Forces have allowed Samueli Institute to leverage more than a decade of research into action and help expand drugless pain management, alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), develop resilience and improve human performance. The impact of this research in action has been powerful.
In 2010, The U.S. Air Force and Samueli Institute developed the first-known training program to teach military physicians a simple acupuncture procedure to deliver pain relief without medication. The success of this program led to an expansion to include integrating acupuncture into aeromedical evacuations from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Andrews Air Force Base.
Last year, Samueli Institute collaborated with Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine on a randomized controlled trial of returning combat-exposed Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The study found that combat Marines receiving Healing Touch combined with guided imagery treatments showed a significant reduction in PTSD than their peers who received treatment as usual alone.
Why is this research important? Because unless we find new and less costly ways to help veteran’s self-heal our costs for caring for service members and their families will soar out of sight. A recent analysis by Linda J. Bilmes of Harvard Kennedy School of Government showed that the health care costs of the 10 year wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may reach $3 to $4 trillion. Peak costs will likely be 30 to 40 years from now. Already in 2017 military medical costs may reach 18 percent of all Defense costs. Such growth is unsustainable. Only lower cost interventions that facilitate salutogenesis (self-healing and recovery) and teach people self-care skills can reduce these costs sustainably. That is why we regularly evaluate where we are with these interventions using SEaRCH™.
These are just a few examples of the way that an open-minded and scientifically rigorous approach to healing can net positive outcomes for patients in need and provide new approaches for our health care systems. Samueli Institute believes that by providing unbiased evaluations of the science of healing and building coalitions to convert science into action we can build a healthy and flourishing society.
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Wayne B. Jonas, MD
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