2021 Annual Conference

Decolonizing Medicine: Toward Equity and Inclusivity in Integrative Healthcare

What does it mean to decolonize medicine; and, how do we build more equitable models of integrative healthcare? Integrative Health has been critiqued as a movement emphasizing "elite medicine for the worried well... [and] pricey, non-essential healthcare practices for the 'overserved.' ''* Yet, many ‘integrative’ practices (e.g., yoga, mindfulness, acupuncture) have historical roots in communities of color, and—like air and water--belong in the commons, where value goes beyond price. Such practices also often originate in Indigenous therapeutic paradigms that pre-date European colonization -- but continue to be devalued.

This year’s IM4US conference welcomes contributions on the following themes as well as other areas related to equity and inclusivity in integrative healthcare: 

• Using anti-racist and/or re-Indigenizing strategies to address social and structural determinants of health;

• Lifting up models of financially accessible, trauma-informed, culturally-safe and culturally-responsive healthcare;

• Building trustworthy healthcare organizations;

• Transforming biomedical supremacy, environmental racism and cultural misappropriation in healthcare;

• Expanding what ‘evidence’ means for marginalized communities and practices; 

• Redefining professional expertise through dignified collaboration between diverse healthcare practitioners, patients, and communities; and 

• Recognizing and honoring community-based health sovereignty.

Submissions will be housed within four conference tracks aligned with the IM4US mission: Outreach, Education, Research & Practice, and Advocacy. 

*Chao MT, Adler SR. Integrative Medicine and the Imperative for Health Justice. J Altern Complement Med 2018 Feb;24(2):101–3.