Help ensure traditional knowledge is used carefully and responsibly

Across cultures and communities, traditional and natural health knowledge plays an important role in how people care for their health. It is knowledge that has been passed down through generations, shaped by lived experience, clinical traditions, and long-standing texts. 

But when this knowledge is brought into modern healthcare, education, or policy, there is often uncertainty about how to do so properly. Modern health systems are designed to work with scientific research, yet they are far less prepared to work with traditional knowledge. As a result, important knowledge can be ignored, oversimplified, or used without proper guidance. 

This research focuses on a critical question: how can traditional knowledge be translated into contemporary health settings in ways that are rigorous, respectful, and responsible? 

Professor Amie Steel

Professor Amie Steel is a globally recognised public health researcher at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University. Her work focuses on how traditional and natural health knowledge can be integrated into modern health systems in ways that are safe, ethical, and evidence-informed. 

Her research has already produced an internationally recognised framework that guides how traditional knowledge can be used in contemporary health contexts. The next step is to turn this framework into practical tools that educators, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers can use every day. 

"Traditional and complementary medicine is increasingly recognised as an important contributor to primary health care internationally. At the same time, knowledge mobilisation needs to acknowledge the importance of different types of knowledge and how that diversity influences health care and health care choices." 

Why this work matters now 

Health organisations and governments around the world are increasingly recognising the value of traditional and natural health knowledge. But recognition alone does not provide the guidance people need to use that knowledge well. 

Right now, many decision-making systems are designed only for biomedical research. Educators, practitioners, and policymakers often have little guidance about what is appropriate, ethical, or safe when working with traditional knowledge. This research fills that gap by providing clear direction where there is currently uncertainty. 

What your donation makes possible 

Your support helps move this research from theory into real-world impact. 

With your donation, this work will: 

• Develop clear, practical tools to help people work with traditional knowledge in research
• Support more accurate teaching of traditional knowledge in education settings
• Help healthcare practitioners use traditional knowledge safely and responsibly
• Support fair and informed decision-making in health policy
• Test these tools in real-world settings to ensure they are practical and easy to apply  

In short, your donation helps ensure traditional knowledge is used well — not ignored, misunderstood, or misused.

Be part of something that makes a lasting difference 

By supporting this research, you are helping create better guidance for educators, practitioners, and decision-makers. You are helping build health systems that respect traditional knowledge as a valuable form of evidence. And most importantly, you are helping ensure knowledge that has supported health for generations can be used thoughtfully and responsibly in the future. 

Donate today and help ensure traditional knowledge is translated into modern healthcare with care, clarity, and integrity. 

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