Amie Steel

University of Technology Sydney | UTS · Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Background Health and wellbeing during the preconception period influence maternal and child health outcomes. We describe the sociodemographic and health characteristics of Australian women currently attempting pregnancy or planning to conceive in the next 12 months, compared with other women of reproductive age, to identify opportunities for preco...

Background Health professionals have previously identified various barriers and factors that would help facilitate preconception care services in healthcare settings. Clinically relevant preconception information and clinical practice guidelines have since been developed to aid health professionals in preconception care delivery. This systematic re...

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent mental health disorder with females experiencing higher rates of depression (11.6%), anxiety (15.7%) and physiological distress (14.5%) than males. Recently, the Endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been proposed to be a key contributing factor in the pathogenesis and symptom severity of...

Background Australian government strategies and frameworks have been developed in recent years to encourage the integration and coordination of primary care delivery; including patient-centred approaches to clinical and preventative care, and health promotion. This study aims to explore patient experiences of information-sharing and patient-centred...

Background: The practice of osteopathy differs around the world. However, the dominant practice is that of manual therapy interventions guided by assessment of the neuromusculoskeletal system. Patient populations treated by osteopaths vary across the lifespan and include groups with more-nuanced care requirements such as those who are pregnant. The...

Background Australian preventive health strategy outlines the importance of preconception health in improving health in the community, across multiple generations and places primary and community healthcare services as a central pillar to effective preconception care. However, there is no national implementation plan to see preconception care proac...

Australian osteopaths engage in multidisciplinary care and referrals with other health professionals, including general practitioners (GPs), for musculoskeletal care. This secondary analysis compared characteristics of Australian osteopaths who refer to, and receive referrals from, GPs with osteopaths who do not refer. The analysis was undertaken t...

Yoga is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries, particularly for maintaining health and managing chronic noncommunicable diseases. Yoga providers, including yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and healthcare workers using yoga in clinical practice, are vital in facilitating group and personalized yoga sessions. This article aims to meet an...

Background: Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) is highly utilised and draws on traditional knowledge (TK) as evidence, raising a need to explore how TK is currently used. Objectives: Examine criteria used to select, evaluate and apply TK in contemporary health contexts. Methods: Systematic search utilising academic databases (AMED,...

Introduction Most knowledge translation models pay relatively little attention to patient-held knowledge and are largely based on the premise that researchers and clinicians hold all valuable knowledge, and patients are passive recipients of such knowledge. Counter to this clinician- and researcher-centred lens is a growing interest and awareness o...

Background Primary care professions practicing traditional medicine systems, such as naturopathy, may have an increased need to use critical thinking to integrated diverse knowledge sources in response to the complex ‘messiness’ of clinical practice. The degree to which the varied knowledge types used by naturopathic practitioners align with eviden...

Background Shared medical appointments, also known as group visits, are a feasible and well-accepted approach for women receiving antenatal care, yet the feasibility and efficacy of this approach for female-specific reproductive conditions is uncertain. Objective The aim of this systematic review was to (a) determine the feasibility of group visit...

Background: Over 48.5 million couples are reported with infertility worldwide. Health policy recommends folic acid in women of childbearing age, particularly in preconception and pregnancy which results in women purchasing over-the-counter prenatal multivitamins containing folic acid through pharmacies and other retail outlets. Emerging studies ar...

Background and purpose: The clinical encounter is inherently complex and uncertain. Naturopathic clinical practice is shaped by a traditional philosophy and practice guiding principles, with a therapeutic framework that incorporates a complex inter-systems approach. It is possible that this foundation may orient naturopathic practitioners to manag...

Background: The 2018 Declaration of Astana identifies traditional knowledge (TK) as one of the drivers for strengthening primary health care systems through the use of technology (traditional medicines) and knowledge and capacity building (traditional practitioners). While TK underpins both traditional practice and the use of traditional medicines,...

Introduction: The World Health Organization identified health to be the most important social goal and the 1978 Declaration of Alma Ata placed primary health care central to its attainment and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the template. The Astana Declaration called on a change of focus in primary care, from treatment of specific d...

Introduction: There is significant interest in allied health and the role it plays in health care for rural and remote populations. In Australia, osteopaths are allied health professionals who manage predominantly musculoskeletal complaints using manual therapy, exercise and patient education. Workforce distribution is a significant issue for oste...

Background The preconception period represents transgenerational opportunities to optimize modifiable risk factors associated with both short and long-term adverse health outcomes for women, men, and children. As such, preconception care is recommended to couples during this time to enable them to optimise their health in preparation for pregnancy....

Research on why people use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) shows clients value the CAM consultation, where they feel listened to and empowered to control their own health. Such 'empowerment' through CAM use is often theorised as reflecting wider neoliberal imperatives of self-responsibility. CAM users' perspectives are well studied, bu...

Background and purpose: Naturopathy is a traditional medicine system originating from Europe and naturopathic practitioners provide care to 6.2% of Australians in a 12-month period. Australian naturopathic programs have undertaken a slow transition over the last 20 years from Advanced diploma to Bachelor degree as the minimum level of qualificatio...

Data about the characteristics and prevalence of complementary medicine (CM) product use by Australians, including concurrent use with prescription and over-the-counter medications, have not been collected in the last five years. A cross-sectional online survey involving a representative sample of the Australian population was administered in 2021–...

Naturopathy is a traditional medicine system originating in Europe and is practiced in 108 countries worldwide, representing the most geographically diverse traditional medicine in the modern era. However, the European roots of the naturopathic profession are still prevalent, with just over half of the international population of naturopathic pract...

Background The naturopathic workforce spans over 108 countries and is estimated to provide care to over 5.5 million patients globally per month. Despite such demand, naturopathic practitioners are not well integrated into mainstream health systems, in part due to poor knowledge about naturopathy among policy makers and other health professionals. T...

Objectives Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological disease with varying symptomatology and negative health outcomes. To ensure the best care for women with endometriosis, women require a multidisciplinary team approach. While some women consult with naturopaths for endometriosis, there has been little research on naturopathic knowledge and the na...

Background Complementary Medicine (CM) is widely used internationally but there is limited understanding of the forms of knowledge CM practitioners use in their clinical practice and how they use this knowledge in interactions with patients . This review aims to synthesise the existing evidence on the forms of knowledge that are mobilised, and the...

Background An individual’s health status varies with age, with most health problems increasing through different life stages. Yet, a key feature of the majority of conditions contributing burden to society globally, irrespective of life stage, is the predominance of chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs). An important response to this growing bu...

Parental health before conception effects maternal and offspring health outcomes. Preconception care provides healthcare to prospective parents addressing modifiable preconception risks and health behaviors. This umbrella review aimed to consolidate evidence on women's and men's modifiable preconception risks or health behaviors associated with mat...

This study aimed to systematically review evidence of the association between learning disorders, motor function, and primitive reflexes in preschool children. Seven databases were systematically searched (EMBASE, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Medline, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane) with no restrictions. Inclusion criteria were full tex...

Objectives Naturopathy is a traditional medicine system informed by codified philosophies and principles, and an emphasis on non-pharmacologic therapeutic interventions. While naturopathy is practised by approximately 75 000–100 000 000 naturopathic practitioners in at least 98 countries, little is known about the international prevalence of histor...

Background: In preconception and pregnancy, women are encouraged to take folic acid-based supplements over and above food intake. The upper tolerable limit of folic acid is 1000 mcg per day; however, this level was determined to avoid masking a vitamin B12 deficiency and not based on folic acid bioavailability and metabolism. This review's aim is...

Rationale: Traditional whole systems of medicine, such as naturopathy, are founded upon holism; a philosophical paradigm consistent with contemporary complexity science. Naturopathic case management is predicated upon the understanding of an intimately interconnected internal physiological and external context of the human organism-potentially ind...

Background Advances in systems science creates an opportunity to bring a complexity perspective to health care practices and research. While medical knowledge has greatly progressed using a reductionist and mechanistic philosophy, this approach may be limited in its capacity to manage chronic and complex illness. With its holistic foundation, natur...

Objective To explore the difference in rates and reasons for disclosure of either conventional or complementary medicine (CM) to healthcare practitioners between people living with sleep disorders (SDs) and those without SDs. Methods A cross-sectional survey (N = 2019 adults) that measured sociodemographic characteristics, health status, health se...

Background and purpose: Naturopathic practitioners (NPs) in the United States (US) and Australia are consulted for the prevention and management of a range of health conditions, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite this, little is known about how NPs approach the management of CVD risk factors. The aim of this study was to explore NPs ap...

Background and purpose Endometriosis is a painful female reproductive disease resulting in unmet health needs. Women with endometriosis frequently access different types of health care, yet little is known about naturopathic use. The purpose of this study is to explore the naturopathic utilisation by women with endometriosis in Australia. Material...

Background: Evidence of how social factors affect the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors is limited. Our study explores the association between socio-demographic, health-related and psycho-social (stigma) factors and EVD survivors' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Sierra Leone. Methods: We cond...

Background Health promotion and patient education are crucial to improved population health and are also among the core principles that define naturopathy. Yet, the activities of naturopathic practitioners (NPs) with regards to health promotion and community education have not been widely studied. Methods A cross-sectional online survey of an inte...

Background Advances in systems science creates an opportunity to bring a complexity perspective to health care practices and research. While medical knowledge has greatly progressed using a reductionist and mechanistic philosophy, this approach may be limited in its capacity to manage chronic and complex illness. With its holistic foundation, natur...

Chronic conditions are prolonged and complex, leading patients to seek multiple forms of care alongside conventional treatment, including complementary medicine (CM). These multiple forms of care are often used concomitantly, requiring patient-provider communication about treatments used in order to manage potential risks. In response, this study d...

Objectives Little is known about the education of future CM practitioners. The objective is to explore the perceptions and experiences of students, faculty and professional leaders toward technologies in complementary medicine education and practice. Design and Setting Qualitative focus groups and one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conduct...

The provision of health care is frequently a complex process, and favourable clinical outcomes are dependent on the effective management of this complexity. Contemporary medicine and health care practices that are biomedically aligned have been informed by a reductionist paradigm, potentially creating a misalignment between health care and the huma...

Background The use of technologies continues to grow in healthcare provision, and learning technologies now dominate tertiary education. Meanwhile, complementary medicine (CM) constitutes a substantial component of contemporary healthcare, yet the education of existing and future CM practitioners has received little empirical attention. In direct r...

Objective: The integrity and function of the gastrointestinal system is important in disease prevention and management. This study aims to describe the management methods used by Australian adults with suspected increased intestinal permeability (IP) and the association with subjective wellbeing (SWB) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Des...

Background : Nocturnal enuresis or ‘bedwetting’, is a form of night-time urinary incontinence occurring in younger children. A diagnosis can be socially disruptive and psychologically stressful for a child. The most common strategies used by parents are waking the child during the night to use the bathroom and limiting the child's water intake befo...

Healthcare professionals' advice on lifestyle behaviours is a key factor in improving a nation's health. Although allied health professionals have been well placed to provide such advice as part of patient care, little is known about the characteristics of allied health practitioners who discuss lifestyle topics with patients. This paper focused up...

Aim To describe the prevalence of health care utilisation and out-of-pocket expenditure associated with the management of diabetes among Australian women aged 45 years and older. Design Cross-sectional survey design. Methods The questionnaire was administered to 392 women (a cohort of the 45 and Up Study) reporting a diagnosis of diabetes between...

Objectives: Naturopathy is a traditional medicine system informed by codified philosophies and principles, and an emphasis on non-pharmacologic therapeutic interventions. While naturopathy is practiced by approximately 75 000 to 100 000 naturopathic practitioners in at least 98 countries, little is known about the international prevalence of histor...

Background The contemporary evidence-based practice model acknowledges the importance of patient preferences and clinician experience when applying evidence within a clinical setting. Knowledge mobilisation (KM) acknowledges the complexities of knowledge translation by recognising and respecting diversity in types of knowledge and how such diversit...

Background: The public health consequence of increased intestinal permeability (IP) is currently limited by the lack of patient-centred research. This study aims to describe the health-seeking behaviour of Australian adults with suspected IP. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 589 Australian adults who have been diagnosed with IP or have suspect...

Introduction: Globally, depressive disorders affect over 311 million people and women are more likely than men to suffer depression. However, no study has comprehensively described the diverse health services used for managing depression in middle-aged and older women. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was sent to 800 Australian women aged over 45-...

Background and purpose: Utilization of complementary medicines (CMs) amongst children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in Australia is high. Carers beliefs, perceptions and use of CM can influence the decision to use CM in children in their care. This study explores the factors influencing the use of CM for a child's EoE when the carer also uses...

Background Cannabis for cancer is very topical and, given the use of illicit cannabis preparations used in this vulnerable population, research investigating standardised, quality-assured medicinal cannabis is critical to inform clinicians and assist patient safety. Methods A randomized trial involving adult patients diagnosed with a high-grade gl...

Objectives The aim of this literature review is to examine the relationship between Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms and assisted reproductive technologies in men and women accessing fertility services. Design Systematic literature review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Methods Thi...

Introduction: This metaethnography provides an interpretative synthesis of complementary medicine (CM) practitioners' perceptions toward their health model and the healing process. CM is commonly described on the basis of its distinction from biomedicine with limited research available on CM practitioners' understanding of what the essence of their...

Objectives: This study aims to describe the characteristics of published peer-reviewed journal articles authored by naturopathic practitioners (NPs) Design: The study used bibliometric analysis of data extracted from journal articles. Settings/Location: International Subjects: Articles were included if they had at least one author with a naturopath...

Background There has been a considerable increase in the number of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) practitioners over the past 20 years and in some jurisdictions are estimated to outnumber general practitioners. Despite this globally significant role, it is apparent that worldwide not all T&CM professions operate under adequate accoun...

Background Non-disclosure of conventional medicine use to complementary medicine health professionals may result in patient harm. Currently, no standardised validated instrument is available to measure reasons for conventional medicine disclosure or non-disclosure. Objective The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a multidimensional inde...

Introduction The education of complementary medicine (CM) practitioners has received little research attention even though CM occupies a significant role in the Australian and US healthcare systems and the CM education sector continues to grow and professionalise. The objective of this study is to explore the perceptions of CM students to learning...

Design: The International Cohort on Lifestyle Determinants of Health (INCLD Health) longitudinal cohort study is designed to assess health behaviors and lifestyle practices amongst adults studying complementary and integrative health (CIH) and higher-education students more generally after at least one to six years of exposure to CIH education. INC...

Objective To investigate treatment burden and impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and their carers. Methods An Australian cross-sectional online survey of carers of children aged 18 years and under with EoE between September 2018 to February 2019. Results Of 181 complete responses, mor...

Objective Work-related injuries constitute a significant proportion of osteopaths' practice. This study was designed to determine the practitioner and practice characteristics of osteopaths who treat people with work-related injuries and to identify the impact of workers’ compensation scheme status on the use of osteopathic medicine. Methods A cro...

Background Australians report consulting with a naturopaths or herbalists to improve their wellbeing, yet little is known about the associations between these consultations and the patients’ health behaviours. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between health behaviour and consultations with naturopaths or herbalists in th...

At the time of writing this commentary, knowledge on the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and how to effectively treat it is lacking. The role of naturopathic treatment approaches or those from the realm of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) have received limited attention with respect to their potential role in this pandemic. Based on contemp...

The study aimed to compare the characteristics of Australian osteopaths who definitely agree that prescribing scheduled medicines is part of their future scope of practice with those who do not. A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of osteopaths from an Australian practice-based research network was undertaken. Demographic, practice and...

Purpose: Palliative care for cancer deals with physical, psychosocial, and spiritual issues faced by cancer patients, their families, communities, and healthcare providers. Research on complementary medicine (CM) use in France is limited despite high rates of reported CM use in other countries including by palliative patients. This study describes...

Background The paucity of empirical research examining complementary medicine (CM) use in palliative care in France compared with other countries results in a gap in scientific knowledge. This study aims to describe the frequency and the cause of palliative care patients consulting with a CM clinician along with the conventional physicians. Method...

Current evidence suggests that N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) administration may help improve outcomes in people with acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute lung injury – conditions that closely resemble the signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Few mild and transient adverse events were reported in published randomised-controlled trials, indicating that...

Brief Overview: Current evidence suggests vitamin D replacement may reduce risk for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) in people with deficiency or insufficiency, although the effects of supplementation on incidence and severity of ARTI in the general population remain unknown. Oral vitamin D supplementation taken at routine doses appears to...

Brief overview Based on the evidence identified in this rapid review, Hedera helix preparations and herbal complex preparations including H. helix may be a therapeutic option for treating early symptoms of respiratory tract infections. The best effectiveness for H. helix preparations has been proven for coughing, as an expectorant and to reduce the...

Brief overview Collectively the evidence obtained from across five clinical studies involving 936 adults indicate that mono-herbal preparations of Sambucus nigra L. berry (S.nigra), when taken within 48 hours of the onset of acute respiratory viral infection, may reduce the duration and severity of common cold and influenza symptoms in adults. Ther...

Objectives: To date, no formal research has evaluated how naturopathic practitioners approach the care of people living with CVD and associated CVD risk factors. The primary aim of this research was to collect qualitative data from Australian Naturopathic practitioners about their clinical practices for CVD. Design: Semi-structured interviews were...

Objectives: Existing evidence supports the use of certain Chinese medicine (CM) interventions for symptom management among palliative cancer patients. However, evidence-based service recommendations tailored to the local context are needed for CM planning and implementation. In response, we aimed to establish consensus on CM clinical service recomm...

Objectives Chronic conditions require continuous, multi-factorial care – such as person-centred care – to address patients’ individual health needs and quality of life. Many patients with chronic conditions seek additional care outside mainstream medicine, often consulting complementary medicine (CM) practitioners. This study examines person-centre...

Brief Overview Seven human clinical trials with some risk of bias suggest that multivitamins may be a safe and effective intervention to relieve some symptoms of respiratory tract infections, increase micronutrient status and immune function; however, further research is needed. There is currently insufficient evidence to recommend multivitamins as...

Brief overview: Current evidence from published systematic reviews indicate that oral intake of vitamin C may assist with symptoms of acute viral respiratory infections (ARI) by reducing fever and chills, relieving chest pain and assist in reducing symptoms of common cold-induced asthma. Intravenous (IV) vitamin C administration may reduce the nee...

Introduction Classical Chinese medicine (CCM) includes numerous simple lifestyle recommendations which can be adopted into daily life in support of short and long-term health outcomes. The rise of chronic illness and non-communicable disease globally, in recent decades, has created a call for acceptable, cost-effective and scalable health care prog...