View source for National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

{{Short description|US government agency funding alternative medicine research}}

{{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=August 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox organization
|logo = NIH-NCCIH-logo.svg
| name                = National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
| abbreviation        = NCCIH
| formerly            = National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)<br />Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM)
| formation           = 1991
| type                = [[Governmental organization]]
| purpose             = 
| headquarters        = [[Bethesda, Maryland]]
| location_country    = United States
| language            = English
| leader_title        = Director
| leader_name         = [[Helene Langevin]], MD
| parent_organization = [[National Institutes of Health]]
| affiliations        = [[United States Public Health Service]]
| budget              = 
| website             = {{URL|nccih.nih.gov/}}
| remarks             = 
}}
{{Alternative medicine sidebar |general}}

The '''National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health''' ('''NCCIH''') is a United States government agency which explores [[alternative medicine|complementary and alternative medicine]] (CAM). It was created in 1991 as the '''Office of Alternative Medicine''' ('''OAM'''), and renamed the '''National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine''' ('''NCCAM''') before receiving its current name in 2014.<ref name=name_change/> NCCIH is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH) within the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]].

NCCIH has been criticized for funding and marketing pseudoscientific medicine and [[quackery]].<ref name=SSOAGGRAM/><ref name=london/>

== Organization and history ==

===Overview===

The Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) was established in October 1991 by the United States Congress. The OAM was expanded from an office into a center and renamed the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in October 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/nih-almanac/national-center-complementary-integrative-health-nccih|title=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health – Organization |publisher= The NIH Almanac – National Institutes of Health (NIH)|access-date=July 1, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Offit"/><ref name="Skept">{{cite journal|last1=Mielczarek|first1=EV|last2=Engler|first2=BD|date=2012|title=Measuring mythology: startling concepts in NCCAM grants|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2012/01/p35.pdf|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=36|pages=36–43}}</ref> It is [[List of institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health|one of several centers]] within the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH).

The founding director of the center was [[Stephen Straus]]. In 2008, [[Josephine Briggs]] became the second director of NCCAM. The NCCAM was renamed the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) in December 2014.<ref name="name_change">[https://web.archive.org/web/20141218034511/http://nccam.nih.gov/news/press/12172014 NIH complementary and integrative health agency gets new name], NIH, December 17, 2014</ref> In August 2018, [[Helene Langevin]] was named director of the NCCIH.

The 2014 name change to NCCIH has been described by critics as an attempt by the center to mitigate criticism by avoiding the term "alternative" and distancing itself from having funded studies of questionable merit.<ref name="AAAS2015">{{Cite web| title = Will a name change make NIH research center less controversial?| author = Allen S| work = American Association for the Advancement of Science| date = February 19, 2015| access-date = August 29, 2016| url = https://www.aaas.org/blog/capitol-connection/will-name-change-make-nih-research-center-less-controversial}}</ref><ref name="Reardon2014">{{Cite web| title = NIH alternative-medicine centre proposes name change| author = Reardon S| work = Nature News Blog| date = May 16, 2014| access-date = August 29, 2016| url = http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/05/nih-alternative-medicine-center-to-change-its-name.html}}</ref>

The 2001 mission statement of the NCCAM stated that it was "dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science; training complementary and alternative medicine researchers; and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals."<ref name="2001plan">{{Cite web| title = Expanding Horizons of Healthcare: Five-Year Strategic Plan 2001–2005| author = National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine| work = nccih.nih.gov| date = 2001| access-date = August 29, 2016| url = https://nccih.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/about/plans/fiveyear/fiveyear.pdf| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161221195326/https://nccih.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/about/plans/fiveyear/fiveyear.pdf| url-status = dead| archive-date = December 21, 2016}}</ref>

As NCCIH, the mission statement is "to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and their roles in improving health and health care".<ref name="NCCIHIntro">{{Cite web| title = Introduction: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health| work = NCCIH| access-date = August 29, 2016| url = https://www.nccih.nih.gov/about/strategic-plans-and-reports}}</ref>

===As the OAM (1991–1998)===

[[Joseph J. Jacobs]] was appointed the first director of the OAM in 1992. Jacobs' support for rigorous scientific methodology caused friction with Democrat [[U.S. Senator]] [[Tom Harkin]] and other OAM patrons. Harkin believed his allergies had been cured by [[bee pollen]] pills and expressed frustration with the "unbendable rules" of [[randomized clinical trials]], saying, "it is not necessary for the scientific community to understand the process before the American public can benefit from these therapies."<ref name="natural-causes">{{cite book | title = Natural causes: death, lies, and politics in America's vitamin and herbal supplement industry | author = Dan Hurley | publisher = [[Broadway Books]] | year = 2006 | location = New York | pages = 243–247 | isbn = 978-0767920421 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/naturalcausesdea00hurl }}</ref> Harkin's office reportedly pressured the OAM to fund studies of favored theories, including the use of bee pollen and [[Burzynski Clinic|antineoplastons]] as treatments. OAM board member [[Barrie Cassileth]] publicly criticized the office as a purveyor of nonsense and described it as a "place where opinions are counted as equal to data".<ref name="natural-causes"/> After Harkin appeared on television in 1994 with cancer patients who blamed Jacobs for blocking their access to antineoplastons, Jacobs resigned from the OAM in frustration.<ref name="natural-causes"/> In an interview with ''Science'', Jacobs criticized Harkin and other politicians for pressuring his office, promoting certain therapies, and, he says, attempting an end-run around objective science."<ref name="Marshall1994">{{cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=Eliot |title=The Politics of Alternative Medicine |journal=Science |volume=265 |issue=5181 |pages=2000–2002 |year=1994 |pmid=8091220 |doi=10.1126/science.8091220|bibcode=1994Sci...265.2000M }}</ref>

Harkin drew support from Iowa Democrat Representative [[Berkley Bedell]], who believed that cow [[colostrum]] had cured his [[Lyme disease]].<ref name="Offit"/>

The OAM's budget grew in the 1990s. The office drew increasing criticism for its perceived lack of rigorous scientific study of alternative approaches favoring uncritical boosterism. [[Paul Berg]], a [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel laureate in chemistry]], wrote to the Senate{{When|date=November 2022}} that "[[Quackery]] will always prey on the gullible and uninformed, but we should not provide it with cover from the NIH," and called the office "an embarrassment to serious scientists".<ref name=OAMGUB/><ref name=QMHCHF/>{{rp|175}} Allen Bromley, then-president of the [[American Physical Society]], similarly wrote to Congress{{When|date=November 2022}} that the OAM had "emerged as an undiscriminating advocate of unconventional medicine. It has bestowed the considerable prestige of the NIH on a variety of highly dubious practices, some of which clearly violate basic laws of physics".<ref name="natural-causes"/><ref name="OAMGUB">{{Cite web |last=Smaglik |first=Paul |date=November 9, 1997 |title=Office Of Alternative Medicine Gets Unexpected Boost |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news/office-of-alternative-medicine-gets-unexpected-boost-57249 |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=The Scientist Magazine® |language=en}}</ref><ref name=QMHCHF/>{{rp|175}} [[Leon Jaroff]], writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 1997, described the OAM as "Tom Harkin's folly".<ref name="bee-pollen">{{cite news |work=New York Times | title = Bee Pollen Bureaucracy | first = Leon | last = Jaroff | date = October 6, 1997 | access-date =April 13, 2009 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/06/opinion/bee-pollen-bureaucracy.html}}</ref>

In 1995, [[Wayne Jonas]], a promoter of [[homeopathy]] and political ally of Harkin, became the director of the OAM, and continued in that role until 1999.<ref>National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), Skeptics Dictionary, [http://skepdic.com/NCCAM.html]</ref> In 1997, the NCCAM budget was increased from $12&nbsp;million to $20&nbsp;million annually.<ref name=OAMGUB/> From 1990 to 1997, use of alternative medicine in the US increased by 25%, with a corresponding 50% increase in expenditures.<ref name=Eisenberg1998>{{cite journal |title= Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990–1997: Results of a follow-up national survey |journal= JAMA |last1= Eisenberg |first1= D.M.|last2= Davis |first2= R.B. |last3= Ettner |first3= S.L. |last4= Appel |first4= S. |last5= Wilkey |first5= S. |last6= Van Rompay |first6= M. |last7= Kessler |first7= R.C. |volume= 280 |issue= 18 |pages= 1569–1575 |pmid= 9820257 |doi= 10.1001/jama.280.18.1569 |year= 1998 |ref={{harvid|Eisenberg et al.|1998}}|display-authors= 1 |doi-access=  }}</ref> The OAM drew increasing criticism from eminent members of the scientific community with letters to the Senate Appropriations Committee when discussion of renewal of funding OAM came up.<ref name="QMHCHF">{{Cite book |last=Boyle |first=Eric W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2YCTohiBpYC&dq=%22Office+for+the+Study+of+Unconventional+Medical+Practices%22+oam&pg=PA170 |title=Quack Medicine: A History of Combating Health Fraud in Twentieth-Century America |date=2013-01-09 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38568-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|175}} In 1998, the President of the North Carolina Medical Association publicly called for shutting down the OAM.<ref name="WNCCAMSBD">{{Cite web |last=Sampson |first=Wallace |date=2002-12-10 |title=Why the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Should Be Defunded |url=https://quackwatch.org/related/nccam/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Quackwatch |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1998, NIH director and Nobel laureate [[Harold Varmus]] came into conflict with Harkin by pushing to have more NIH control of alternative medicine research.<ref name=SSOAGGRAM/> The NIH Director placed the OAM under stricter scientific NIH control.<ref name=OAMGUB/><ref name=SSOAGGRAM/> Harkin responded by elevating OAM into an independent NIH "center", just short of being its own "institute", and renamed it the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). NCCAM had a mandate to promote a more rigorous and scientific approach to the study of alternative medicine, research training and career development, outreach, and "integration".

Stephen Strauss was the director of NCCAM from 1999 to 2006. He tried to bring more scientific rigor to the organization.<ref name=gorski/> In 1999 the NCCAM budget was increased from $20&nbsp;million to $50&nbsp;million.<ref name=WNCCAMSBD/><ref name=SSOAGGRAM/> The United States Congress approved the appropriations without dissent. In 2000, the budget was increased to about $68&nbsp;million, in 2001 to $90&nbsp;million, in 2002 to $104&nbsp;million, and in 2003, to $113&nbsp;million.<ref name=WNCCAMSBD/>

===As NCCAM (1998–2014)===

In 2008 [[Josephine Briggs]] was appointed as director of NCCAM. She was "a [[nephrologist]] with impeccable scientific credentials". The appointment was considered surprising {{cn|date=August 2025}} since she did not have a complementary and alternative medicine background or integrative medicine background. Writing for [[Science-Based Medicine]], [[David Gorski]] states Briggs was in an impossible position: "She was a real scientist trying to impose scientific rigor on an enterprise that was inherently resistant to such an imposition." She attempted to impose a more scientific approach with two long-term strategic plans. The plans used "one of the most harmful tactics of quacks to legitimize their quackery under the banner of 'integrative medicine,' the co-opting of the opioid crisis as an excuse to claim all nonpharmacological treatments for pain as being 'integrative.' The results are threatening great harm to chronic pain patients by misguided governments wanting to force them to undergo quack treatments like acupuncture as a means of getting them off opioids." However, she was able to eliminate studies on homeopathy and tried to counter anti-vaccine beliefs. Energy healing was "relegated to the fringes, if not eliminated". Most of the studies became centered around nutrition, exercise, [[pharmacognosy]], "and other modalities within the realm of science-based medicine".<ref name=gorski>{{cite web |last1=Gorski |first1=David |author-link=David Gorski|title=NCCIH has a new director, and she's a true believer in acupuncture. |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/nccih-has-a-new-director-and-shes-a-true-believer-in-acupuncture/ |website=Science-Based Medicine |date=September 3, 2018 |access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref>

In 2009, after 17 years of government testing for $2.5&nbsp;billion, almost no clearly proven efficacy of alternative therapies had been found.<ref name="$2.5 billion">{{cite news |url= https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31190909 |title= $2.5&nbsp;billion spent, no alternative cures found |work= [[NBCNews.com]] |department= Alternative Medicine |agency= [[Associated Press]] |date= June 10, 2009 }}</ref> Senator Harkin complained, "One of the purposes of this center was to investigate and validate alternative approaches. Quite frankly, I must say publicly that it has fallen short. I think quite frankly that in this center and the office previously before it, most of its focus has been on disproving things rather than seeking out and approving."<ref name=SSOAGGRAM/><ref>Full Committee Hearing, Integrative Care: A Pathway to a Healthier Nation, SD 4-30 (February 26, 2009), United States Senate, [http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=03629575-0924-cb2e-13cb-68a8065ababb]</ref><ref name="THWS">Tom Harkin's War on Science, Peter Lipson, Discover Magazine editor's opinion in New York Times, February 3, 2009, [https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/tom-harkins-war-on-science-or-meet-the-new-boss/]</ref> Members of the scientific community criticized this comment as showing Harkin did not understand the basics of scientific inquiry, which tests hypotheses, but never intentionally attempts to "validate approaches".<ref name=SSOAGGRAM/> In 2009, the NCCAM's yearly budget was increased to about $122&nbsp;million.<ref name="SSOAGGRAM">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=David |date=2009-03-17 |title=Scientists Speak Out Against Federal Funds for Research on Alternative Medicine |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031602139.html |access-date=2022-11-18 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Overall NIH funding for CAM research increased to $300&nbsp;million by 2009.<ref name=SSOAGGRAM/> By 2009, Americans were spending $34&nbsp;billion annually on CAM.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32219873|title=$34 billion spent yearly on alternative medicine|website=NBC News|date=July 30, 2009 }}</ref>

In 2012, the ''[[Journal of the American Medical Association]]'' (''JAMA'') published a criticism that NCCAM had funded study after study, but had "failed to prove that complementary or alternative therapies are anything more than placebos".<ref name=ITPWS/> The ''JAMA'' criticism pointed to large wasting of research money on testing scientifically implausible treatments, citing "NCCAM officials spending $374,000 to find that inhaling lemon and lavender scents does not promote wound healing; $750,000 to find that prayer does not cure AIDS or hasten recovery from breast-reconstruction surgery; $390,000 to find that ancient Indian remedies do not control [[type 2 diabetes]]; $700,000 to find that magnets do not treat arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or migraine headaches; and $406,000 to find that coffee [[enema]]s do not cure pancreatic cancer."<ref name="ITPWS">Is taxpayer money well spent or wasted on alternative-medicine research?, Susan Perry, August 5, 2012, [[MinnPost]], [https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/05/taxpayer-money-well-spent-or-wasted-alternative-medicine-research]</ref> It was pointed out that the public generally ignored negative results from testing, that people continue to "believe what they want to believe, arguing that it does not matter what the data show: They know what works for them".<ref name=ITPWS/> Continued increasing use of CAM products was also blamed on the lack of FDA ability to regulate alternative products, where negative studies do not result in FDA warnings or FDA-mandated changes on labeling, whereby few consumers are aware that many claims of many supplements were found not to be supported.<ref name=ITPWS/>

===As NCCIH (2014–present)===

In 2014, while Josephine Briggs was the director, the NCCAM was renamed the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Briggs retired in October 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Francis |title=Statement on the retirement of Dr. Josie Briggs |url=https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-retirement-dr-josie-briggs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005073108/https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-retirement-dr-josie-briggs |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 5, 2017 |website=NIH |date=August 10, 2017 |access-date=September 18, 2018}}</ref>

On August 29, 2018, the NCCIH announced [[Helene Langevin]] as the new director.<ref>{{cite web |title=NIH names Dr. Helene Langevin director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health |url=https://nccih.nih.gov/news/press/Langevin-NCCIH-Director-Selected |website=NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health |access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> She was previously the director of the [[Osher Center]] and professor-in-residence of medicine at [[Harvard Medical School]]. Her medical interests involve connective tissue. Langevin "believes that the stretching of connective tissue is how several CAM modalities 'work,' such as chiropractic, massage, and&nbsp;... acupuncture". Langevin has been studying acupuncture since the 1990s. At the time of her appointment, Gorski expressed concern that the balance of power at NCCIH would "shift back towards pseudoscience" with a massive budget to fund the shift.<ref name=gorski/>

===Operations===

The NCCIH operates under a charter set by the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Integrative Health (NACCIH). The charter states that:<ref name="charter">{{cite web|url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/about/naccih-charter|title=NACCIH Charter|work=NCCIH|access-date=July 1, 2015}}</ref><blockquote>Of the 18 appointed members (of the council) 12 shall be selected from among the leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines (including not less than 2 individuals who are leaders in the fields of public health and the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to the activities of NCCIH, particularly representatives of the health and scientific disciplines in the area of complementary and alternative medicine. Nine of the members shall be practitioners licensed in one or more of the major systems with which the Center is involved. Six of the members shall be appointed by the Secretary from the general public and shall include leaders in public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management. Three of the six shall represent the interests of individual consumers of complementary and alternative medicine.</blockquote>

===Directors===
Past directors 1999 - present<ref>{{cite web|title=NCCIH Directors|url=https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/nih-almanac/national-center-complementary-integrative-health-nccih|website=www.nih.gov|date=July 10, 2015 }}</ref>

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|-
!{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
!Portrait
!Director
!Took office
!Left office
!Notes
|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa"
|acting
|[[File:Noimage.svg|70px]]
|William R. Harlan
|January 1999
|October 1999
|
|-
|1
|[[File:Stephen E. Straus (NCCIH).jpg|70px]]
|[[Stephen Straus]]
|October 1999
|November 2006
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/1999/NIH-Record-1999-11-02.pdf |title=NIAID's Stephen Straus To Direct NCCAM |date=November 2, 1999 |volume=51 |number=22 |page=12 |journal=The NIH Record}}</ref>
|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa"
|acting
|[[File:Ruth Kirschstein 1926-2009 (33345823081).jpg|70px]]
|[[Ruth L. Kirschstein]]
|November 2006
|January 2008
|
|-
|2
|[[File:Josephine-P-Briggs.jpg|70px]]
|[[Josephine Briggs]]
|January 2008
|October 2017
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/josephine-briggs-md-named-director-nihs-national-center-complementary-alternative-medicine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105092955/http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/josephine-briggs-md-named-director-nihs-national-center-complementary-alternative-medicine |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |title=Josephine Briggs, M.D., Named Director of NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine |date=January 24, 2008 |publisher=NIH}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-retirement-dr-josie-briggs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005073108/https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-retirement-dr-josie-briggs |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 5, 2017 |title=Statement on the retirement of Dr. Josie Briggs |date=August 10, 2017 |publisher=NIH}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/2008/NIH-Record-2008-02-22.pdf |title=NCCAM Welcomes Briggs as New Director |date=February 22, 2008 |volume=40 |number=4 |pages=1, 8 |journal=The NIH Record}}</ref>
|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa"
|acting
|[[File:Acting_NCCIH_Director_David_Shurtleff.jpg|70px]]
|David Shurtleff
|October 2017
|November 2018
|
|-
|3
|[[File:Helene Langevin, M.D., Director, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), NIH.jpg|70px]]
|[[Helene Langevin]]
|November 26, 2018
|Present
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-names-dr-helene-langevin-director-national-center-complementary-integrative-health |title=NIH names Dr. Helene Langevin director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health |date=August 29, 2018 |publisher=NIH}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Research areas and funding==

=== Research focus ===
NCCIH funds research into complementary and alternative medicine, including support for [[clinical trial]]s of CAM techniques. The four primary areas of focus are research, research training and career development, outreach, and integration.<ref name="Zoumbaris2012">{{cite book|author=Sharon K. Zoumbaris|title=Encyclopedia of Wellness: From Acai Berry to Yo-yo Dieting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyAKENpqh5kC|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39333-4|page=591}}</ref> NCCIH divides complementary and alternative medicine into natural products, including [[dietary supplements]] and [[herbal supplements]]; mind and body practices, including [[meditation]], [[yoga]], [[qigong]], [[acupuncture]] and [[spinal manipulation]] (both [[chiropractic]] and [[osteopathic]]); and other approaches, such as [[homeopathy]], [[naturopathy]], [[Traditional Chinese Medicine]] (TCM), and [[ayurveda]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/complementary-alternative-or-integrative-health-whats-in-a-name|title=Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What's In a Name?|date=November 11, 2011|website=NCCIH|language=en|access-date=December 9, 2019}}</ref>

=== Funding trajectory ===
Since 1999, the division's funding increased more than six-fold.<ref name="Skept"/> By 2012, OAM and NCCAM spent a cumulative $1.6&nbsp;billion in grant funding.<ref name="Offit"/> Between 1999 and 2009, NCCAM supported approximately 50% of the National Cancer Institute spending on CAM, with the total amount spent on CAM during that time frame $2.856&nbsp;billion.<ref name="Skept"/>

The NCCIH budget for 2005 was $123&nbsp;million. For fiscal year 2009 (ending September 30, 2009), it was $122&nbsp;million.<ref name="WP-17Mar09">{{cite news |title=Critics Object to 'Pseudoscience' Center |author=David Brown |newspaper=Washington Post |date= March 17, 2009 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031602139.html }}</ref>

The NIH has also conducted research in alternative medicine at the [[National Cancer Institute]] by the [[Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine]] which, in 2009, had the same $122&nbsp;million budget as NCCIH. For FY 2009; NIH's total budget was about $29&nbsp;billion.<ref name="WP-17Mar09"/>

The NCCIH budget for 2015 was $124.1&nbsp;million.<ref name="NCCAM Appropriations History">{{cite web|url=https://nccam.nih.gov/about/budget/appropriations.htm| title=NCCIH Funding: Appropriations History | publisher=[[NIH]]| date=March 10, 2015| access-date=April 8, 2017}}</ref> They requested a $3,459,000 funding increase for their 2016 budget.<ref name="NCCAM 2016 Budget Request">{{cite web|url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/about/offices/od/directortestimony/043015| title=Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request | publisher=[[NIH]]| date=April 30, 2015| access-date=April 8, 2017}}</ref>

==== Examples of NCCAM research projects funded prior to 2012 ====
{| class="wikitable"
! Grant (USD)
! Purpose
! Result
|-
|$110,000,000<ref name="Skept"/>
|362 projects for diabetes (e.g. whether expressive writing{{what|date=April 2024}} reduces symptoms)
|No results reported.
|-
|$374 000<ref name="Offit"/>
|Does inhaling lemon, and lavender scents promote wound healing?
|No evidence for such.
|-
|$22,000,000<ref name="Skept"/>
|Does prayer treat diseases?
|No results reported.
|-
|$417,000<ref name="Skept"/>
|Does distance healing improve outcome of HIV patients?
|"Distant healing or prayer from a distance does not appear to improve selected clinical outcomes in HIV patients who are on a combination antiretroviral therapy.”
|-
|$823,000<ref name="Skept"/>
|To study effect of prayer on [[glioblastoma]]
|No results reported.
|-
|$390 000<ref name="Offit"/>
|Can ancient Indian remedies control type 2 diabetes?
|No evidence for such
|-
|$2,000,000<ref name="Skept"/>
|Can magnets cure arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or migraine headaches?
|"[I]mprovements (in pain intensity) did not differ significantly from changes in the Sham group or the Usual Care group."
|-
|$406,000<ref name="Offit"/>
|Use of coffee enemas to cure pancreatic cancer
|No evidence for curative effects
|-
|$250,000 in 2012<ref name="Skept"/>
|Effects of Energy Healers on cholesterol-fed rabbits
|No results reported.
|}

Of 52 CAM clinical trial studies on HIV and Cancer, only 8 reported results.<ref name="Skept"/>

==== Education ====
NCCAM also funds education and outreach programs. Despite the negative findings on the effectiveness of distance healing, NCCAM awarded $180,000 to a consultant to develop an Internet-based wellness program on the healing by [[Qigong]].<ref name="Skept"/>

==Criticism==

NCCIH has been criticized by [[Steven E. Nissen]], [[Stephen Barrett]], and [[Kimball Atwood]], among others, for funding, along with the [[National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute]],<ref>NHLBI [https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/press-releases/supplement/questions-and-answers-the-nih-trial-of-edta-chelation-therapy-for-coronary-heart-disease Questions and Answers: The NIH Trial of EDTA Chelation Therapy for Coronary Heart Disease] Page accessed March 19, 2015</ref> a study of [[EDTA]] [[chelation therapy]] for [[coronary artery disease]], which lasted about 10 years and cost about $31&nbsp;million, even though smaller, controlled trials found chelation ineffective.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rabin |first=Roni Caryn |date=2013-04-15 |title=Trial of Chelation Therapy Shows Benefits, but Doubts Persist |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/trial-of-chelation-therapy-shows-benefits-but-doubts-persist/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Well |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-11-16 |title=Why the NIH Study of Chelation Therapy Should Have Been Stopped |url=https://quackwatch.org/chelation/research/tact/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Quackwatch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Atwood | first1 = Kimball C. | last2 = KC | display-authors = etal | year = 2008 | title = Why the NIH Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) Should Be Abandoned | journal = Medscape J. Med. | volume = 10 | issue = 5| page = 115 | pmid = 18596934 | pmc = 2438277 }}</ref> Other NCCIH-funded studies have included the benefits of distant prayer for AIDS, the effects of lemon and lavender essential oils on wound healing,<ref name=Offit>{{cite journal |author=Offit PA |title=Studying complementary and alternative therapies |journal=JAMA |volume=307 |issue=17 |pages=1803–1804 |date=May 2012 |pmid=22550193 |doi=10.1001/jama.2012.518 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Tsouderos|first=Trine|title=Federal center pays good money for suspect medicine|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/12/11/federal-center-pays-good-money-for-suspect-medicine/|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=February 6, 2012|date=December 11, 2011}}</ref> "energy chelation", and "rats stressed out by white noise".<ref>{{cite news|last=Tsouderos|first=Trine|title=Energy healing sparks debate|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/12/11/energy-healing-sparks-debate/|work=The Chicago Tribune|access-date=December 18, 2011|date=December 11, 2011}}</ref>

In 2006, NCCIH was criticized in ''[[Science (magazine)|Science]]'' with the comment "NCCAM funds proposals of dubious merit; its research agenda is shaped more by politics than by science, and its charter structures it in a manner that precludes an independent review of its performance."<ref name='policyforum'/> The authors suggested that, while it was appropriate to study alternative therapies, the quality of its research was lower than other NIH institutes and that these studies could be performed under the auspices of other institutes within the NIH. As an example, the authors described a trial of [[gemcitabine]] with the [[Gonzalez regimen]] for stage II to IV [[pancreatic cancer]], in the belief that a deficiency of pancreatic proteolytic enzymes causes cancer. Severe adverse effects were associated with the Gonzalez regimen, and no evidence in [[peer-review]]ed journals supported the plausibility or efficacy of the regimen or chelation therapy.<ref name='policyforum'>{{cite journal |pages=301–302 |doi=10.1126/science.1126978 |title=Science and Government: Enhanced: Review for NCCAM is Overdue |year=2006 |last1=Marcus |first1=D. M. |journal=Science |volume=313 |issue=5785 |pmid=16857923 |last2=Grollman |first2=AP|s2cid=30481889 }}</ref>

A 2012 study published in the ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' examined the grants and awards funded by NCCIH from 2000 to 2011, which totaled $1.3&nbsp;billion. The study found no discoveries in complementary and alternative medicine that would justify the existence of this center. The authors argued that after 20 years and an expenditure of $2&nbsp;billion, the failure of NCCIH was evidenced by the lack of publications and the failure to report clinical trials in peer-reviewed medical journals. They recommended that NCCIH be defunded or abolished and the concept of funding alternative medicine be discontinued.<ref name=Skept/>

In 2019, an analysis by the [[Center for Inquiry]] found that NCCIH was continuing to fund questionable science and that "there is little hope of reforming the NCCIH as it is currently incorporated". It concluded that "There is no legitimate function that the NCCIH can serve that could not be better carried out by other existing organizations within the NIH umbrella."<ref name="CFI2019">{{Cite web| title = The Problem with The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health| author = Murdoch J| work = centerforinquiry.org| date = 2 August 2019| access-date = 2 January 2024| url = https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/the-problem-with-the-national-center-for-complementary-and-integrative-health/}}</ref>

Writing for [[Quackwatch]] in 2023, [[William M. London|William London]] criticized the NCCIH and its article "6 Things To Know When Selecting a Complementary Health Practitioner" for "misleading consumers" and promoting—rather than warning against—complementary health, which "is often a euphemism for quackery."<ref name="london">{{cite web |last1=London |first1=William |title=How the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) Misleads Consumers About Choosing "Complementary Health Practitioners" {{!}} Quackwatch |url=https://quackwatch.org/credential/how-the-national-center-for-complementary-and-integrative-health-nccih-misleads-consumers-about-choosing-complementary-health-practitioners/ |website=Quackwatch |access-date=27 September 2023 |date=12 September 2023}}</ref><ref name="6-things">{{cite web |title=6 Things To Know When Selecting a Complementary Health Practitioner |url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/tips/things-to-know-when-selecting-a-complementary-health-practitioner |website=NCCIH |access-date=27 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==

* [https://www.nccih.nih.gov/ NCCIH home page]

{{National Institutes of Health}}

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[[Category:1991 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1991]]
[[Category:National Institutes of Health|Complementary and Alternative Medicine]]
[[Category:Medical research institutes in Maryland]]