About the International Journal of Complementary Medicine
A global platform for advancing integrative healthcare through rigorous research, clinical evidence, and interdisciplinary collaboration across all healing modalities and health systems.
IJCO exists to validate, refine, and disseminate knowledge about complementary medicine practices that have historically operated outside mainstream healthcare frameworks. We believe healing systems from diverse cultural traditions deserve the same scientific scrutiny as conventional treatments-without dismissing their unique philosophical foundations or centuries of empirical use.
Our mission extends beyond publication: we foster critical discourse about safety, efficacy, mechanisms of action, and appropriate integration of CAM modalities into patient-centered care. By facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration between traditional practitioners, biomedical researchers, clinical scientists, and healthcare policy experts, IJCO accelerates the translation of complementary medicine insights into improved patient outcomes.
Evidence-Based Validation
Applying rigorous scientific methodology to evaluate traditional and emerging complementary therapies-supporting clinicians in making informed integrative treatment decisions.
Cultural Competence
Honoring diverse healing traditions while maintaining methodological rigor-recognizing that global health systems offer valuable insights when appropriately studied.
Patient-Centered Integration
Advancing holistic care models that combine best practices from multiple healing systems-empowering patients with evidence-informed options for their health journey.
Open Access Commitment
Removing financial barriers to knowledge-ensuring global practitioners, researchers, and communities can access life-changing complementary medicine research.
IJCO welcomes submissions across the full spectrum of complementary and alternative medicine, including but not limited to:
Research Priorities: IJCO particularly welcomes studies examining mechanisms of action, comparative effectiveness, safety profiles, cost-effectiveness analyses, clinical outcomes research, qualitative investigations of patient experiences, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and policy analyses exploring integration pathways. We encourage submissions that challenge existing paradigms, address methodological limitations, or propose innovative research designs appropriate to CAM contexts.
- Rapid Publication Timeline: Efficient peer review and editorial processes ensure timely dissemination of your research-with many manuscripts advancing from submission to publication in weeks rather than months.
- Expert Editorial Oversight: Our international editorial board comprises leading researchers, clinicians, and thought leaders across complementary medicine disciplines-providing authoritative review and constructive feedback.
- Global Visibility: Open access ensures your work reaches practitioners, researchers, educators, and policy makers worldwide-maximizing impact beyond traditional paywalled journals.
- Interdisciplinary Readership: Attract attention from diverse stakeholders including CAM practitioners, biomedical researchers, integrative medicine clinicians, public health officials, and patient advocacy organizations.
- Rigorous Peer Review: Single-blind review processes ensure methodological quality while respecting epistemological diversity-recognizing that CAM research may require context-appropriate evaluation frameworks.
- Author Support Services: From submission guidance to language editing assistance, our editorial team supports researchers at every stage-particularly welcoming contributions from practitioners transitioning into research roles.
- Transparent Editorial Process: Clear communication about review timelines, decision criteria, and revision expectations-respecting authors' time and intellectual contributions.
IJCO's editorial board represents the breadth and depth of complementary medicine scholarship. Our board members bring expertise spanning traditional healing systems, clinical research methodology, pharmacology, neuroscience, immunology, public health, and healthcare policy. This multidisciplinary composition ensures manuscripts receive appropriate expertise-matched review-whether evaluating acupuncture neurophysiology, herbal medicine pharmacokinetics, mind-body intervention psychology, or health systems integration strategies.
Methodological Pluralism: IJCO recognizes that complementary medicine research may require methodological approaches beyond conventional randomized controlled trials. We welcome qualitative studies, mixed-methods research, practice-based evidence, n-of-1 trials, whole-systems research designs, and pragmatic clinical studies that reflect real-world integrative practice contexts. Reviewers are selected for their understanding of research paradigms appropriate to CAM inquiry.
Authors are encouraged to review our comprehensive Instructions for Authors before preparing manuscripts. IJCO accepts original research articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, clinical case reports, short communications, commentaries, and perspective pieces. All submissions must report ethical approvals, informed consent procedures, and conflict of interest disclosures.
Submit your manuscript through our streamlined Online Manuscript Submission System, which provides real-time tracking of your submission status through peer review, revision, and production stages. Authors experiencing technical difficulties may alternatively email manuscripts to [email protected] with "IJCO Submission" in the subject line.
Preparation Checklist: Before submission, ensure your manuscript includes a structured abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions), comprehensive methods section detailing intervention specifics, appropriate reporting guidelines (CONSORT for RCTs, CARE for case reports, PRISMA for systematic reviews), complete conflict of interest and funding disclosures, and ethical approval documentation. Traditional medicine interventions should be described with sufficient detail to enable replication-including practitioner qualifications, treatment protocols, and quality control measures.
IJCO operates under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, allowing readers to freely access, download, distribute, and build upon published research-provided original authorship is properly credited. Authors retain copyright while granting IJCO first publication rights. This model maximizes global dissemination to underserved communities where complementary medicine may be the primary healthcare option.
Article processing charges support rigorous peer review infrastructure, production quality, and long-term digital preservation. We offer flexible waiver and discount policies for authors from low- and middle-income countries, early-career researchers, and practitioners transitioning into scholarship. Contact our editorial office to discuss financial accessibility options.
Join the Global Complementary Medicine Research Community
Whether you're a traditional practitioner documenting clinical observations, a translational researcher investigating mechanisms, or a health systems scholar evaluating integration models-IJCO provides the scholarly platform your work deserves. Contribute to the evidence base shaping the future of integrative healthcare.
Editorial Inquiries: Questions about scope, submission suitability, or editorial processes? Contact our editorial office at [email protected]. We welcome pre-submission inquiries and are committed to supporting researchers from all complementary medicine traditions in navigating the publication process.
