"Northwestern Health Sciences University

Health equity is the principle of ensuring that all individuals have optimal opportunities to attain the best health possible, addressing disparities in access, outcomes, costs, quality, and appropriateness of care. This focus on health equity is important in healthcare research, driven by the need to investigate systemic injustices and foster fair health outcomes for all, regardless of background or circumstances. Researchers have an ethical imperative to focus on issues relevant to populations bearing the highest burdens of illness and inequities. To address the gap in structured guidance for incorporating health equity principles in health-related research, this study aims to introduce a comprehensive health equity checklist developed by the RAND Research Across Complementary and Integrative Health Institutions (REACH) Center. The checklist is designed to ensure that every stage of the research process integrates health equity considerations. RAND, in collaboration with complementary and integrative health academic institutions across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, developed a health equity checklist. They combed through literature to assess existing guidance and developed the checklist based on gaps in literature and the specific needs identified through consultations with community partners and stakeholders. This checklist emphasizes creating a health equity research culture, involving community partners, designing inclusive research/interventions, securing equitable funding, and engaging diverse participants. It also advocates for equitable intervention delivery, data collection, analysis, and effective dissemination and sustainability of research findings. The health equity checklist provides a practical guide for researchers, community partners, and participants to reflect on inclusivity, cultural relevance, and social justice in health research. By implementing this checklist, researchers can ensure that their studies are both inclusive and impactful in advancing health equity across all areas of health-related research. Achieving health equity in research requires a comprehensive approach and significant investment in building sustainable partnerships. The RAND REACH Center's recommendations provide a guide to ensure research advances scientific understanding while actively contributing to health equity. This paradigm shift necessitates support from funding agencies and a long-term commitment to creating equitable health outcomes.

Objective: 
Collaboration between complementary and integrative health (CIH) institutions and research-intensive (R1) institutions has been successfully undertaken in the United States, resulting in federally funded research projects, educational programs, and faculty development. The aim of this cross-sectional survey study was to explore the barriers and facilitators to establishing and maintaining such collaborative partnerships.

Methods: A 32-question survey was sent to participants recruited through author contacts and resources, literature review, and database searches. Participants were required to be researchers and affiliates who attempted, completed, or had current collaborative endeavors involving CIH and R1 institutions. Data were collected in the research electronic data capture (REDCap) system and descriptive quantitative and qualitative data analysis was undertaken.

Results: A total of 26 unique entries were included in the final data analysis; four of which were paired entries (one from an R1 institution and one from a CIH institution) to make up two dyad data collections. Eighty-one percent of the participants had senior leadership roles at CIH institutions representing five CIH disciplines—East Asian medicine (acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine), chiropractic medicine, massage therapy, naturopathy, and yoga. Collaborative research projects were often (>38%) in response to specific project funding mechanisms. Over 60% of the collaborations also included educational activities and faculty development. Collaborations resulted in multiple different types of benefits to both institutions but were not without associated challenges.

Conclusion: Collaborations between R1 and CIH institutions can be cooperative, productive, and mutually beneficial. Funding mechanisms supporting R1 and CIH collaboration increase CIH research productivity as well as the development of innovative research methodology to study the real-world practice of CIH therapies, whole systems, and whole person health. CIH researchers would greatly benefit from such funding, allowing access to research infrastructure, professional development, and the provision of protected time to conduct research.

The NCCAM-funded R25 project has provided the impetus for meaningful culture change at Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) which, over the long term, can affect the professional culture of our CAM constituents. Benefiting from a unique collaboration with the University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing, we are making substantial progress in developing our CAM professionals' research-related skill sets so that they may truly learn and practice in evidence informed ways.

Students entering the doctor of chiropractic program at Northwestern Health Sciences University were offered three adaptive units on chemistry concepts deemed foundational for the two-course biochemistry series offered in the first two terms of the program. The effects of this remedial intervention offered to 3 incoming cohorts were assessed in a retrospective case-control approach by comparing several outcomes with a control group of similar size who started the program before the implementation of the adaptive units. Our calculations suggest that there is a positive effect of these adaptive units, in that the odds ratio for students to end the course with a grade of D or F decreased. The biggest impact on performance among 4 summative exams in the course was observed on the final exam, with an odds ratio of 2.3 to earn an A or B on the final, indicating that students who had access to the adaptive units had a substantially higher chance to earn a good grade. The odds ratio for students to earn an F or D on the final was 0.5, indicating a 50% lower risk for a low or failing score.

Integrative care is a healthcare approach that blends conventional medical treatments with complementary and alternative therapies. It emphasizes treating the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—rather than just addressing specific symptoms. This model of care fosters collaboration between healthcare providers and patients to create personalized treatment plans that align with individual needs, values, and lifestyles.