Maiers Presents at 2024 International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health
The 2024 international Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health (ICIMH) took place in Cleveland, OH this April. The congress consists of a member meeting and international congress that bring together leading figures in various healthcare fields to display recent scientific advancements in integrative medicine and health.
Maiers Presents on Opioid Settlement Funds
NWHSU faculty member Michele Maiers, DC, MPH, PhD presented her study on alternatives to opioids. In her abstract, she states the purpose of the study is to present strategies for the use of settlement funds to facilitate the use of nonpharmacologic therapy (NPT) for pain. She elaborates:
“Most recommendations for distributing over $50 billion in opioid settlement funds focus on reducing opioid-related harms and death, and addressing substance use disorders. However, primary prevention strategies to reduce initiation of opioids in individuals with non-cancer pain are an important component of a multi-faceted strategy to further stem the opioid crisis. Unfortunately, reducing unnecessary opioid initiation has been under-emphasized or absent from most recommendations, presenting a dangerous gap in strategy given the widespread prevalence of pain.”
The team of researchers developed and published recommendations to guide states and localities to use opioid settlement funds to increase access to evidence-based NPT for pain management and prevention of opioid use. They conclude that it is an upstream prevention strategy that invests in long-term population health.
About the ICIMH
The Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health (ACIMH) has advocated for two decades and established a team-oriented entity of visionaries and professionals who are dedicated to transforming our healthcare system. Emphasizing multi-disciplinary and holistic approaches, they have conducted high quality research that illustrates integrative health care strategies to be safe and effective, especially for common health care issues for which conventional medicine practices often result in a lack patient satisfaction.
Due to the work of the ACIMH, respected medical guidelines have implemented integrative therapies for chromic pan, cancer and other conditions into their guidelines. The focus of the 2024 congress is moving integrative health care strategies into mainstream healthcare.
Story by Kit Harlow, Chiropractic Student