A scoping review of the barriers and facilitators in the use of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine: insights for health policy development.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: Bangladesh NLM ID: 100959228 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2072-1315 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 16060997 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Health Popul Nutr Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: May 2015- : London: BioMed Central
Original Publication: Dhaka, Bangladesh : ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research, c2000-

Health Policy* ; Complementary Therapies*/statistics & numerical data ; Integrative Medicine*/statistics & numerical data ; Policy Making* ; Medicine, Traditional*/statistics & numerical data ; Health Services Accessibility*; Humans

Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study’s protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences by approval ID: IR.SUMS.REC.1402.520. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Background: The historical and cultural importance of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) is observable in diverse contexts and among different populations. As the use of TCIM continues to grow globally, policymakers need to acknowledge its importance in healthcare services.
Objectives: We conducted a scoping review of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research to identify the factors that promote and hinder the adoption of TCIM.
Methods: This scoping review involved a comprehensive search of online databases from 2000 to February 2024. The review utilized the methodology suggested by Arksey and O'Malley. Qualitative content analysis was employed to synthesize the data.
Findings: From a total of 1403 articles retrieved, 61 full-text articles were chosen for the final analysis. Among these, 47 examined facilitators, 4 addressed barriers, and 10 investigated both barriers and facilitators of using TCIM. Three key themes were recognized concerning barriers to using TCIM services, including "service delivery problems", "governance challenges", and "personal barriers". Six key themes associated with the factors facilitating the use of TCIM services were recognized, which include "financial facilitators", "health conditions", "personal determinants", "perceived benefits", "social impact", and "appropriate service delivery".
Conclusions: Exploring the barriers and facilitators of using TCIM services can provide valuable insights to policymakers, enabling them to develop strategies to overcome existing challenges and enhance the support for the growth of these services. This knowledge is essential for making sure that TCIM services are available to people in a safe, prompt, and high-quality way.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)

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Keywords: Complementary therapies; Health policy; Integrative medicine; Scoping review; Traditional Persian medicine

Date Created: 20250605 Date Completed: 20250606 Latest Revision: 20250627

20250630

PMC12139373

10.1186/s41043-025-00934-y

40474255