Contemporary approaches in understanding health, illness and its treatment largely differ from the traditional way of treating people’s health conditions. For instance, before the “Age of Reason” beliefs about vindictive spirits, evil and divine intervention, and practices of sorcery and witchcraft were widely held (Porter 1997 as cited in Williams, 2003). Another example is the practice of Greek medicine; a more naturalistic approach used by the practitioner to tune the body through humoral theories of balance and lifestyle modification. Similarly, during this age, the combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual factors contributed to the development of the “sick man” (Williams, 2003). These medical teachings were authoritative until the eighteenth century. However, towards the nineteenth century, numerous discoveries such as Vesalius’ anatomical atlas and Harvey’s process of blood circulation challenged mainstream medicine, which paved the way for the rise of a newer and more systematic form of medicine (Williams, 2003, p. 11), marking the growth and supremacy of scientific medicine. The evolution of scientific medicine is well documented in several literature (Gabe, Keheller, & Williams, 1994; Longino, 1998; Marcum, 2008; Morris, 2000; Quirke & Gaudilliere, 2008; Williams, 2003). A progressive shift from preference of either licensed or unlicensed healers to the legitimization of the medical profession and medicalisation of natural life experiences had occurred (Gabe, et al., 1994). With this, scientific medicine, commonly known as biomedicine, continued to dominate the discourse of health and illness from the end of the 18th century up to the present (Williams, 2003). Despite this perceived supremacy, scientific medicine...
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...s of thi sTrial Apply? The Lancet, 365(9453), 82-93. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17670-8
Thorpe, R. D. (2008). Integrating biomedical and CAM approaches: The experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS. Health Sociology Review, 17(4), 410-418.
Tonelli, M. R., & Callahan, T. C. (2001). Why Alternative Medicine Cannot be Evidenced-Based. Academic Medicine, 76(12), 1213-1220.
Torgerson, D. J. (2003). Avoiding Bias in Randomised Controlled Trials in Educational Research. British Journal of Educational Studies, 51(1), 36-45.
Williams, S. J. (2003). Medicine and the body. London: SAGE publications Ltd.
Xue, C. C. L., Zhang, A. L., Lin, V., Costa, C. D., & Story, D. F. (2007). Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Australia: A National Population-Based Survey. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13(6), 643-650. doi: 10.1089/acm.2006.6355.
I intend to help readers question their healing practices and the state of today’s formal medicine—to influence thought, education of the reality and exploration of the natural medicine realm.
Ernst, E. (2001) The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine an evidence-based approach, 1st edition, Harcourt Publishers Limited, London, pp 48-49
In modern medicine when an ailment arises it can be quickly diagnosed, attributed to a precise bacteria, virus, or body system, and treated with medication, surgery or therapy. During the time before rational medical thought, this streamlined system of treatment was unheard of, and all complaints were attributed to the will of the multitude of commonly worshiped Greek gods (Greek Medicine 1). It was during the period of Greek rationalism that a perceptible change in thought was manifested in the attitudes towards treating disease. Ancient Greece is often associated with its many brilliant philosophers, and these great thinkers were some of the first innovators to make major developments in astrology, physics, math and even medicine. Among these academics was Hippocrates, one of the first e...
McFarland, B., Bigelow, D., & Kaplan, M. (2002, October). Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Canada and the United States. American Journal Public Health, pp. 1616-1618.
In a previous paper I explored how new generations of Western doctors are more focused on treating the disease, rather than the patient as a whole. If doctors spent extra time with each patient to treat their spiritual well-being, as well as their physical ailments, they could create a new dynamic in the way medicine is practiced. In this paper I will discuss why arts from Eastern mysticism should be incorporated into Western medicine practices, as well as a few ways they may be incorporated.
Sacket D, Straus S, Richardson W, Rosenberg W, Haynes R (2000) Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach EBM. Churchill Livingstone. London, England
Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is very popular in the United States. It is widely used by adults and children. National health statistic reports done in 2007 shows that 38.3% of adults and 11.8% of children use some form of alternative medicine (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). But why is this happening? Why is it becoming so popular? Why are more people turning to it? Many times, this is because conventional medicine has not work and they want to try an alternative. That is the case of the author of this paper.
In terms of what is looked for in the Biomedical model, it is believed that there is one aetiology of the disease or illness exhibited in the patient who is then treated as a passive host of the illness where only the medical technology provided by the medical practitioner can hope to cure or at least care for the patient. While at one point in time this method of treatment seemed apt due to the knowledge of the world of that period, it is not a holistic approach of intervention because the main thought behind this model, as discussed by G. L. Engel (1977:129), is that because a disease or illness is characterized by “somatic parameters, physicians need not be concerned with psychosocial issues which lie outside medicine’s responsibility and authority.” This implies that following the Biomedical model, medical practitioners do not take into account the living situations, economic standpoints, racial, gender and ethical viewpoints or the community involvement factor of the patient seeking help.
Easthope, G., 2005. Alternative Medicines. In: Germov, ed. An Introduction to Health Sociology. Melbourne :Oxford University Press, pp. 332-348.
Complementary and alternative therapies are relatively new and essential options in health care, they help to increase the quality of life of patients and provide them with numerous possibilities to ensure growth of their health, beyond current medicine. Recently, these therapies, such as massage therapy and acupuncture, have become more prevalent in research. Consequently, their substitution with standard medicine in the healthcare system has been supported by the literature. The literature that supports these methods has explored why complementary therapies are needed, the different and distinct features of each therapy, and they also examine the education and knowledge those implementing the services must have. To accurately analyze if complementary and alternative therapies are valuable to the health care system, this paper will aim to learn why they are becoming predominant and why nurses should use these therapies’ to assist in improving the health of individuals. To determine the main attributes of these therapies, a variety of resources that extensively discuss complementary and alternative therapies will be examined and the paper will also examine the benefits and weaknesses they have on improving health. Lastly, this paper will aim to determine if these services should be implemented by nurses as alternative options for their patients, as nurses should have substantial knowledge pertaining to implementing these therapies.
The direct relationship between one and the ability to restore one's body to its original state of health may never be fully comprehended. The fields of medicine and health are two most paramount features affecting the daily lives of all beings. Throughout recorded history, various cultures concoct their own methods of alternative medicine for treatment and therapy which is then relied on by todays nations. Medicine in its earliest times begins with the ancient civilizations' assimilation with the world around and their beliefs on how things function. Ancient Greek medicine may have began with spiritual beliefs but Greek practitioners had steered the medical profession in the right direction for modern times.
Morton, Mary and Michael. (1997). Ten Most Commonly Asked Questions About Alternative Medicine [Online]. Available: http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/morton/ten.htm [1999, March 1].
Since the dawn of man, humans have dreaded the suffering caused by injuries and disease. For our benefit, we have enhanced the practices of Medicine and its techniques, but before such ideas existed; the risk of recovery was extremely traumatic and at times fatal. We have abandoned several of the medical procedures used in ancient times since intrepid scientists and physicians sought methods. Although medicine was not always a science, instead it was magic, thus god were trusted for a few techniques more than actual logic. Therefore, the history of medicine has been disturbing and dangerous, but a good number of its practices today used in a more modern way, is quite beneficial to humanity.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is slowly becoming better known all over the world. CAM encompasses various types of therapies, such as yoga, reflexology, chiropractic therapy, herbal therapy, ayurveda, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc. The evidenced-based research, recognition of disconnect between patients and also the positive and negative aspects of CAM modalities are reasons behind the increased attention it has gained in medicals schools all over the United States. (Hart, 2009, p. 287).
The outcome of each trial was standardized to an odd’s ratio; a odd’s ratio below 1.0 indicated a beneficial effect. The qualities of the trials were assessed by thee factors: randomisation, masking and data analysis. The information abo...