Developing and promoting public health methods for integrative medicine: examples from the field in Australia.

Integrative medicine (IM) research in China has largely focused on clinical and experimental research, which is critical to determining the efficacy of treatments and enhancing the standing of IM. Nevertheless, there is also a need to extend research activities to include methods and research perspectives from public health, which will provide a greater understanding of clinical practice and assist government and professional organizations to shape policies and directives in IM. In this article we outline the public health research methods we have used in relation to our program of research on complementary and alternative medicine use and area of residence/geography, to highlight the usefulness of these methods in IM.