# A Short Course for Creating Integrative Oncology Leaders

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $234,325

## Abstract

Abstract
The primary aim of this proposal is to improve the quality of life for oncology patients by educating a cohort of
oncology professionals who have the knowledge and skills to act as leaders for the safe and evidence-based
integration of complementary therapies into conventional oncology care, education, and research. The quality
of life of cancer survivors is negatively affected by symptoms resulting from cancer biology and cancer
treatment. Treating these symptoms has often proven difficult, as there is both a lack of treatments for certain
symptoms, and inadequate integration into clinical practice of some evidence-based treatments.
Complementary therapies offer potential treatments for cancer symptoms and around 46% of cancer patients
already use some type of complementary therapies to improve their quality of life. Despite the high utilization of
complementary therapies by cancer patients and the growing body of evidence on these therapies, there are
currently no training programs for oncology professionals. Consequently, there is a critical need to provide
programs in evidence-based complementary cancer therapies to help fill this gap. This proposal seeks to
enhance the clinical and leadership skills of oncology professionals through the following Specific Aims: 1.
Develop an interdisciplinary short-course in evidenced-based integrative oncology; 2. Train 100 integrative
oncology leaders (25 participants per course x 4 courses = 100) via the short-course developed in aim #1; 3.
Create partnerships between oncology leaders and complementary practitioners (who provide the majority of
complementary oncology services) within their communities (~25 community-based complementary partners
per year {one per oncology leader} for a total of 100 over 4 years); 4. Evaluate the impact of this short-course
by measuring the process and the outcomes of the various educational activities over the course, and
measuring the implementation and outcomes of the capstone projects initiated by participants at their home
institutions after completion of the program; and to 5. Disseminate the findings through peer-reviewed journals,
presentations at professional meetings, and through both conventional and integrative oncology networks and
associations. A variety of evidence-based educational strategies (courses, web-based and print media) will be
used to achieve the largest impact and to enhance project sustainability. Extensive process and outcome
evaluation strategies will be used to measure the effectiveness of these educational efforts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10165628
- **Project number:** 5R25CA203651-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** SUZANNA M. ZICK
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $234,325
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10165628

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10165628, A Short Course for Creating Integrative Oncology Leaders (5R25CA203651-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10165628. Licensed CC0.

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