WELCOME TO SIGIP

An official interest group of pädiatrie schweiz, the Swiss Society of Pediatrics

The Swiss Interest Group for Integrative Pediatrics (SIGIP) includes pediatric representation and expertise for all four complementary medicine systems that are officially recognized in Switzerland (Anthroposophic Medicine, Homeopathy, Phytotherapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine), as well as other therapies such as medical hypnosis. The group is active in teaching, research and professional exchange on integrative pediatrics, and compiles clinically relevant information for professionals and parents/patients (1).

What is integrative medicine?

While there is no internationally agreed definition of the term, we consider integrative medicine to be the practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence and experience, and makes use of all appropriate preventative and therapeutic approaches, including complementary medicine, to achieve optimal health and healing (2).
The addition of complementary therapies to the conventional treatment spectrum leads to an expansion of therapeutic options which is of added value for both physicians and patients (3). Depending on the clinical situation, the complementary therapy can be used alone or in combination with the conventional therapy in an integrative approach with the goal to achieve synergistic effects (4).
Other terms such as conventional medicine, complementary medicine or alternative medicine are not always used consistently even among experts which can make communication difficult. Please refer to the table below for clarification.

Table: Definition of terms

Definition of integrative pediatrics

„Integrative pediatrics is defined as a holistic approach that uses therapies from conventional and complementary medicine based on evidence and experience and strives for interprofessional collaboration in order to promote optimal health and development of each child in his environment.“ (SIGIP 2017)

References

• 1. Huber BM, Ogal M, Hasselmann O, von Schoen-Angerer T. Schweizer Interessengruppe für Integrative Pädiatrie. Paediatrica 2017;28(3):23–4.

• 2. Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health. Definition of integrative medicine and health. Available from: https://imconsortium.org/about/introduction/

• 3. Snyderman R, Weil AT. Integrative medicine: bringing medicine back to its roots. Arch Intern Med 2002;162(4):395–7.

• 4. McClafferty H, Vohra S, Bailey M, et al. Pediatric integrative medicine. Pediatrics 2017;140(3):e20171961.