Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, family medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, and coauthors from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health, present the results of their pilot study in which they translated and adapted an IMGV curriculum and tested its effectiveness in a low-income Spanish-speaking Latino population affected by chronic pain. The IMGV model combined complementary and integrative medicine, medical group visits, and mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques to address several health issues such as insomnia, stress, and depression. The model also taught self-management techniques and enhanced patients' social support networks.

 

The researchers provide a detailed report on the cultural adaptation of the IMGV curriculum and results of the pilot study in the article entitled "The Latino Integrative Medical Group Visit as a Model for Pain Reduction in Underserved Spanish Speakers." Says Gardiner, who is also an associate professor of family medicine at BUSM: "In the United States, there is a health disparity in the treatment of chronic pain. Medical group visits provide non-pharmacological strategies and provide more access to care."

 

"The value of this study is both in the treatment and the costs," says JACM Editor-in-Chief John Weeks, johnweeks-integrator.com, Seattle, WA. "Gardiner and her Boston team are not only adding to the non-pharmacologic methods that may be part of an alternate strategy to opioids and other pharmaceuticals in this typically underserved population — they are providing it through a group method that is low cost. The recent National Association of Attorneys General's petition to insurers to start covering more of these non-pharmacologic, integrative services should be steering insurers in this direction."

 

For interview requests or to learn more about this study, please contact author Paula Gardiner, Department of Family Medicine, Boston Medical Center.

About the Journal
JACM, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online with open access options and in print. Led by John Weeks (johnweeks-integrator.com), the Co-Founder and past Executive Director of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health, JACM publishes controlled trials, observational studies, scientific reviews and leading commentary intended to help medical organizations and governmental organizations optimize the use of integrative products, practices, and practitioners in patient care and in delivery and payment strategies. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JACM website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Alternative and Complementary Therapies, Medical Acupuncture, and Journal of Medicinal Food. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.