{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T06:07:33Z","timestamp":1789106853231,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>TCM intangible cultural heritage (ICH) preserves medical knowledge, embodied therapeutic and pharmaceutical skills, and culturally embedded health practices. This study examined how such heritage may be safeguarded as a living knowledge system while enabling potential reuse in public health-related settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted an abductive, theory-informed qualitative analysis using grounded theory coding procedures. Fifteen semi-structured stakeholder interviews constituted the primary analytical dataset, while 32 policy documents, safeguarding reports, public heritage descriptions, and media materials were used for contextualization and triangulation. Data-led open and axial coding generated 17 categories and six main categories. Only after this category system had stabilized was Schellenberg\u2019s dual-value theory used for post-coding interpretation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The data-led stage generated 17 categories and six main categories. A subsequent theory-informed stage organized the six main categories into three higher-order interpretive domains: internal capabilities, external drivers, and amplification pathways. The model proposes that public-health-related reuse may generate resources, recognition, institutional support, and transmission incentives that feed back into primary-value safeguarding. The higher-order domains and the primary\/secondary-value mapping constitute post-coding analytical interpretations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>TCM ICH can be understood as a living cultural and knowledge-practice resource with potential public health relevance. The findings offer a provisional, mechanism-generating account of interactions among safeguarding, institutional support, communication, technology, and regulated market activity. Evaluation of causal effects and population-level health outcomes requires further research.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1886809","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T05:30:32Z","timestamp":1789104632000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Safeguarding traditional Chinese medicine intangible cultural heritage and enabling its potential public health reuse: a theory-informed qualitative study in Jiangsu, China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jie","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Nanjing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuxin","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Nanjing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huanhuan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Nanjing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junlong","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Nanjing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1386085","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1386085","article-title":"The mediating effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health literacy between TCM culture promotion and residents' health 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