The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (N C C A M): Part of the National Institutes of Health

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

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NCCAM Facts-at-a-Glance and Mission

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government's lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). We are 1 of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Our Mission

The mission of NCCAM 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.

Our Vision

Scientific evidence informs decisionmaking by the public, by health care professionals, and by health policymakers regarding use and integration of complementary and alternative medicine.

Our Research Goals and Objectives

NCCAM's programs and organization incorporate 3 long-range goals:

  1. Advance the science and practice of symptom management.
  2. Develop effective, practical, personalized strategies for promoting health and well-being.
  3. Enable better evidence-based decision making regarding CAM use and its integration into health care and health promotion.

Five major objectives serve the above goals:

  1. Advance research on mind and body interventions, practices, and disciplines.
  2. Advance research on CAM natural products.
  3. Increase understanding of "real world" patterns and outcomes of CAM use and its integration into health care and health promotion.
  4. Improve the capacity of the field to carry out rigorous research.
  5. Develop and disseminate objective, evidence-based information on CAM interventions.

For More Information