Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) is an important primary health care source for a large section of the population globally. TCIM, along with biomedicine, play a vital role in managing people’s health and promoting well-being. There is an increased demand for TCIM integration into national health care systems, which requires evidentiary support.

The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre commissioned this Evidence Map (EM) to understand the nature and scope of the TCIM evidence base and support evidence-informed decision-making by clinicians, policy-makers, and other stakeholders. This EM, developed by the  Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) and the Norway's National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM), includes 2,719 systematic reviews (2,591 for the adult population, 128 for the pediatric population), assessing the effectiveness of selected TCIM interventions (herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, mind-body therapies, manual therapies, cupping, and aromatherapy) for a range of health conditions, published between January 2018 and December 2022. Users can interact with the EM online, using an Intervention-Outcome matrix, representing the available evidence via colored bubbles. Varying sizes of the bubbles indicate the magnitude of research evidence, with their absence signaling research gaps.

A plain language summary presents information on the methodology, main findings, and suggested policy solutions for identified gaps. Readers interested in expanded information on this EM use should please access the user manual.