Integrative Health

In the School of Community Health at Portland State, we think of integrative health as including integrative medicine, as well as primary prevention based on a systems concept of healthy communities and sustainability.

Andrew Weil, M.D. was one of the first to use the term integrative medicine as a "healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle. Integrative medicine emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative."

As defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, integrative medicine "combines mainstream medical therapies and CAM [complimentary and alternative medicine] therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness." Portland benefits from three CAM institutions: The National College of Natural Medicine, Western States Chiropractic College and the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.

In the School of Community Health, we are interested in joining community partners in developing a truly integrative health system. Integrative health extends beyond a combination of therapies to represent a system of care that emphasizes wellness and healing of the whole person, and a system of relationships and services essential to the flourishing of livable communities.

In a truly integrative health system, people not only have access to quality medical care, they are paid a living wage that allows them to buy fresh food and to live in healthy places. As education is one of the best predictors of health, quality public education is available to all and community members are civically engaged, creating vibrant neighborhoods and commons areas.

We think such a system includes the following:

Medical care that is more wholistic, treating the whole person like the work going on at:
Mid-Columbia Medical Center (in the Dalles)
St. Charles Medical Center (in Bend)

Accessible Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Working Class Acupuncture
Outside In
West Burnside Chiropractic Clinic
Street Yoga

Affordable health care
The Archimedes Movement
Tuality Healthcare

Vibrant, sustainable, local/regional food system(s)
Portland Multnomah Food Policy Council
Ecotrust's Food & Farms Program

Healthy natural and built environments
Tryon Life Community Farm
Oregon Environmental Council
City Repair

Affordable housing
Community Alliance of Tenants
The Community Development Network

Accessible public transit
State of Oregon's Transportation and Growth Management
Bicycle Transportation Alliance

Quality public education
Portland Schools Foundation
Upstream Public Health

Equitable and sustainable regional development
Coalition for a Livable Future
ReDirect Guide

Democratic participation
The Bus Project
Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement

From an integrative perspective, health begins at the level of the cell, extending outward to include organ systems, a healthy body and psyche, a healthy family system, a healthy neighborhood, community and so on to include the entire ecosystem. All levels influence health and well-being through relationships that are dynamic and interdependent.

To that end, we need a fuller understanding of living systems, ecosystems and sustainability. Students in the integrative health emphasis may also be interested in pursuing the Graduate Sustainability Certificate offered at PSU.