Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 30, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 29, 2025 - Nov 24, 2025
Date Accepted: Jun 2, 2026
Date Submitted to PubMed: Jun 10, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Holistic Health Approaches for People with Alcohol Use Disorder: Protocol for a Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a complex condition that requires a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. A comprehensive plan must address the physical, emotional, and mental health of the individual, which is where holistic health comes into play. Holistic health is a system of wellness that considers the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—and aims to restore balance and well-being through the combination of physical, mental, and emotional care. This approach often incorporates natural and alternative forms of treatment alongside conventional medical care. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in integrating holistic health strategies into addiction treatment.
Objective:
The primary objective of this scoping review is to identify and characterize holistic health interventions currently implemented in the treatment of individuals with AUD. A secondary objective is to collate the reported efficacy of these interventions. Additionally, this review will identify gaps in the literature and suggest areas for future research.
Methods:
This review will adhere to the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework for scoping reviews. Published research and pilot clinical trials reporting on holistic health interventions in AUD will be included. Five databases will be searched: PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. There will be no date restrictions, though only English-language articles will be included. To qualify, studies must include at least one holistic intervention (e.g., meditation, homeopathy, special diets). Excluded studies will include those that do not involve individuals with hazardous drinking behaviors or that only test pharmaceutical treatments without a holistic component. Two reviewers will independently screen and extract data; discrepancies will be resolved through discussion.
Results:
This scoping review was started in Covidence in December 2024 and is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Intramural Research Program. The project end date for data collection and submission is September 2025.
Conclusions:
This review will provide an overview of holistic interventions used in AUD treatment, clarifying their roles and effectiveness in supporting recovery. It will highlight gaps in the literature and recommend directions for future research. Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. No ethical approval is required, as the review involves only publicly available literature Clinical Trial: Registration: Protocol is registered on Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/) and can be accessed at https://osf.io/vw7mz Preprint: This protocol is preprinted in medRxiv and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.04.25328277
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Copyright
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