(10) Exploring Integrative Health in Pediatric Resident Education

Background: Integrative Health (IH) is a growing field in pediatrics and is defined as the blending of complementary and conventional therapies to include all appropriate treatments in a patient-focused manner. Up to 75% of adolescents have used some form of complementary and alternative medicine in their lifetime, thus affecting a majority of pediatric patients. Despite this, only around 10% of pediatric training programs have curricula in IH.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to address the gap between the high prevalence of use of integrative therapies in children and adolescents, and the IH training offered to pediatric residents through an educational intervention.

Design/Methods: Pediatric residents completed a baseline survey on their knowledge and comfort of IH techniques. The residents then participated in two Morning Report educational sessions that were each 45 minutes long and took place three weeks apart. Residents learned about IH approaches to well child care and specific therapeutic approaches they could use in their practice. Residents who attended at least one educational session completed the same survey in follow up after the second session. Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact Test were used for statistical analysis.

Results: We received 50 responses in total, 34 at baseline and 16 in follow up. On initial survey, 15% of respondents were DO trained compared to 82% MD. At baseline, majority of residents were not familiar (18%) or only slightly familiar (47%) with IH and 82% of residents reported not having received any IH training previously. DO residents were significantly more likely to have received previous IH training (p < 0.01). Complementary therapies that residents were most familiar with included acupuncture, osteopathic manipulative treatment, and mindfulness. Following education, 67% of residents were confident in their ability to describe IH compared to 27% previously (p < 0.05). Additionally, 80% of residents confidently understood how an IH care plan could be utilized compared to 21% before education (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Most pediatric residents did not have previous training in IH and were uncomfortable using its approach prior to the educational activity. Education in IH for residents during regularly scheduled educational sessions may be an effective way to increase resident comfort and confidence in using integrative approaches and therapies for pediatric patients.