Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health

This research guide provides a starting point for finding information about alternative medicine and holistic health. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list of resources, but a place to begin your search.

See also the MAHS wiki at http://csclibrary.pbwiki.com for more information.

The CSC library liaison for the Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies (MAHS) is Sue Gray. Contact her by phone (651-690-7898) or e-mail (sagray@stkate.edu) if you have questions or need assistance.

Contents of this guide:

Finding Books: Searching CLICnet

Background Resources: Reference Books

Finding Journal Articles and Online Databases

Internet Resources

Citation Style Assistance

Finding Books: Searching CLICnet

Use CLICnet, the online library catalog, to search for books and media in the CSC Library and the seven other CLIC libraries. Click on the red "Request" button to get an item not at the CSC Minneapolis Campus Library.

Subject Terms for Searching

You can use any of the following terms to search subject in CLICnet:

•  Alternative medicine
•  Complementary therapies
•  Holistic medicine
•  Therapeutic touch
•  Mental healing
•  Traditional medicine
•  Herbs, therapeutic use
•  Mind and body
•  Self-care, health
•  Homeopathy

Background Resources: Reference Books

Reference books are a good place to start to find background information and overviews on a variety of alternative medicine topics. Reference books (labeled REF) cannot be checked out of the library.

Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine: Old World and New World Traditions

REF R733 .H376 2004

Encyclopedia of Homeopathy

REF RX41 .L625 2006

Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

REF R733 .F86 2001

Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine

REF R733 .G34 2005

4-volume set

Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary & Alternative Medicine

REF R733 .M678 2005

Natural Standard Herb & Supplement Reference: evidence-based clinical reviews

REF RM666 .H33 N44 2005

Nursing 2004 Herbal Medicine Handbook

REF RM666 .H33 N87 2004

Professional Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies

REF R733 .P755 2001

Find Journal Articles and Online Databases

To find journal articles on alternative medicine, see our Health Sciences Databases page.

Recommended CSC databases for holistic health include:

Alt HealthWatch

AMED

CINAHL

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition

MEDLINE or PubMed

Ask a Reference Librarian to recommend additional databases that might be useful to your research.

Journals in the CSC Collection

To see if the CSC Library has the journal you need, in print or online, use The Periodical Cat. Be sure to compare the issue dates available to those that you need.

Electronic Journals (E-Journals)

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmccomplementalternmed

BioMed Central publishes this open access journal of "original peer-reviewed research articles in complementary and alternative healthcare interventions, with a specific emphasis on those that elucidate biological mechanisms of action. "

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/

An "international, peer-reviewed journal that seeks to understand the sources and to encourage rigorous research in this new, yet ancient world of complementary and alternative medicine."

Internet Resources

General Sites

The Alternative Medicine Homepage

http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html

This page links to databases, Internet resources, mailing lists, newsgroups, government resources, and practitioner directories.

Bandolier, Complementary and Alternative Therapies

http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/booths/altmed.html

Bandolier, an independent journal about evidence-based healthcare written by Oxford scientists, gathers "the best evidence available about complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) for sufferers and professionals. The principal mechanism will be by searching for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of complementary and alternative therapies, and providing abstracts of them."

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Specialist Library

http://www.library.nhs.uk/cam/

The library's aim is make good quality, relevant information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) available to health professionals and patients in the UK. The first phase of the library's development has focused on a number of CAM therapies, including acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, chiropractic, homeopathy, hypnosis, herbal medicine, osteopathy, reflexology, meditation and yoga.

healthfinder.gov  Alternative Medicine

http://www.healthfinder.gov/scripts/Topics.asp?context=5&keyword=114&Branch=5

healthfinder.gov is a Federal web site for consumers, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services together with other Federal agencies. healthfinder.gov links to carefully selected information and Web sites from over 1,500 health-related organizations.  See information on complementary medicine, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, and more.

IN-CAM Outcomes Database

http://www.outcomesdatabase.org/

IN-CAM is a database of "outcome measures of particular importance to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) research in order to facilitate and support the assessment of CAM interventions through high quality research, and thus, to improve clinical practice and inform policy." The database was developed by the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research (IN-CAM) and is maintained by Centennial College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

MEDLINEPlus: Alternative Medicine

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alternativemedicine.html

This site is an extension of the National Library of Medicine's database and provides information on alternative medical therapies, clinical trials, research, laws and policies, organizations, and publications.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

http://nccam.nih.gov/

This site provides links to publications, databases, patient education materials, research information, and fact sheets.

NOAH New York Online Access to Health, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

http://www.noah-health.org/en/alternative/index.html

NOAH provides "access to high quality full-text consumer health information in English and Spanish that is accurate, timely, relevant and unbiased." See information on acupuncture, herbal medicine, reiki, therapeutic touch, and more.

Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Cancer Institute

http://www.cancer.gov/cam

OCAM was established to coordinate and enhance the activities of the National Cancer Institute in the areas of complementary and alternative medicine.

The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

http://www.rosenthal.hs.columbia.edu

The Rosenthal Center, based at Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, is "one of the first comprehensive programs at a major medical center to examine alternative therapies with academic focus and scientific rigor."

Dietary Supplements and Herbology

International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) Database

http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_INformation/IBIDS.aspx

Provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts from international, and scientific literature on dietary supplements. IBIDS is a collaboration between the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Nutrition Information Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library.

Herbal Medicine from MedlinePlus

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html

Excellent health information from the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine.

HerbMed

http://www.herbmed.org

An interactive, electronic herbal database that provides access to information about 30 of the most popular herbs.

Citation Style Assistance

Most MAHS faculty prefer that students use APA (American Psychological Association) for citing sources in their research papers. Click here to access our APA citation style guide. Click here to access all of our citation guides and more information about APA.

RefWorks is a web-based citation manager that allows you to store and organize your research citations. It will also create bibliographies formatted in the citation style of your choice, and can be used to insert citations into your paper. Click here to get started with RefWorks and to access our guides and tutorials.

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