Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use
Added on 2020-04-07
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Running head: TRADITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE MEDICINETraditional/alternative medicineName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor note
1TRADITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE MEDICINEIn the recent healthcare system in Australia, Europe and North America, traditionalmedicine (TM) is highly embraced, however, is also referring to Complementary and alternativemedicine (CAM). There are attractive features of the TM that includes cultural acceptance,greater accessibility in different parts of the world and require lesser technology and low cost.However, in developed countries, CAM is being used for the prevention of disease and in themaintenance of illness apart from conventional care for acute and chronic health conditions.CAM is a holistic approach that encompasses the mind, body and spirit for the treatment of theperson being less invasive as compared to conventional practices (Mehta, 2012). In Australia, itis slowing incorporating into the mainstream, however, remains a controversial topic. Therefore,the following essay discusses the pros, cons of CAM and critique through a literature search thatincludes 12 articles from the year 2012 to 2017. In the current healthcare system, CAM has gained popularity where it has mainstreamedthe conventional and traditional treatment. The pros of this therapy make it popular and widelypopular as compared to the traditional medicine approach used in the new healthcare system. Inthis section, the merits of CAM are being discussed as opposed to the traditional medicineapproach. This treatment is emphasized on the whole body care, which is different from theconventional medicine being a holistic approach. There is whole body treatment where thegrowing trend is not only towards the physical body, but also towards the emotional and spiritualhealth of the patient (Harris et al., 2012). According to Wardle, Lui & Adams, (2012), there is agrowing interest for the CAM, as it is a holistic approach and on rise. Personal attention isanother benefit of the alternative medicine as it provides personal attention. The followers whofollow this therapy not only focus on the physical health, but also the mental and social health
2TRADITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE MEDICINEaspects of the illness affecting an individual. This factor provides healthier focus on the causes ofthe ailments rather that result in the imbalances in the body originally (Wu et al., 2014). CAM has one more advantage that it focuses on the prevention. The traditional medicineprovides intervention after the disease onset; however, alternative medicine focus on preventionof the disease before it occurs in addition to the care delivery (Hawk, Ndetan & Evans, 2012).After the literature search, I found that there are wide applications of CAM for the treatment ofdiseases ranging from mental health problems like mood disorders to fatal diseases like cancer.According to Libby, Pilver & Desai, (2013) the study conducted described the use of CAM in thetreatment of emotional and mental problems in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)individuals. Data was collected from the 599 individuals with PSTD and descriptive analysesshowed 15 cases where CAM was used for treatment. CAM was used as an alternative to theconventional medicine in the mental health care. In another systematic content analysis,according to Shim, (2015) there are two CAM interventions herbal medicine and acupuncturethat are popular in U.S. and Japan. The results showed that herbal medicine is integrated into themainstream medical system in Japan and least in America. Acupuncture is less commonlypracticed in America, Japan, and herbal medicine being most favorable in Japan and least inAmerica. According to Thomson et al., (2012) CAM is widespread and highly prevalent inAustralia among the adult population. The results of the cross-sectional study showed that CAMis highly popular in Australia, however, people does not seek advice from their physicians beforeand after using CAM that require further consideration. According to Kang et al., (2012) there is increase in CAM use among breast cancerpatients in Korea. Around 57.4% of patients were reported to use this therapy that includedexercise therapy and consumption of vitamins and minerals that boosted their immune system,
3TRADITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE MEDICINEpromoted health and prevented recurrence. In another study through structured interviews, itshowed that they used CAM among cancer patients as it helped them for sustenance of strengthand gained ability to perform activities. In a cross-sectional, study through interview-administered questionnaire conducted by Jazieh et al., (2012) the results showed thatcomplementary therapies are highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia with interventions that indicatereligious background and strong cultural beliefs when people are suffering from life-threateningdiseases. CAM is also used in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among the patients whoexperienced adverse side effects of conventional medications. Alternative medicine is also usedin residential palliative care among German patients with advanced cancer in the form of prayerand supplements as studied by Paul et al., (2013). Similar study conducted by Weizman et al.,(2012) also showed that CAM is prevalent among the IBD patients and helps to reduce theadverse effects of the conventional medicines. The above primary studies conducted on CAM indifferent countries for life-threatening diseases depicts that CAM is a holistic approach andachievable option to cure problems and its integration in the current healthcare system. Although, CAM is gaining popularity in the current healthcare system, there arechallenges faced that acts as obstacles in the path of its integration into the country’s medical andhealthcare system. This is scarcity of evidence based practice and lack of research regarding theCAM that are scientifically documented with rigid clinical trials. Although, CAM are beneficial,there is lack of clinical trials with unknown long and short term risks associated with itsadministration. There is also lack of evidence-based practice to confirm that CAM administrationguidelines comply with the Australian standards and have the potential to integrate into thecurrent healthcare system (Reddy, Grossman & Rogers, 2013). There is limited scientificresearch regarding CAM as compared to traditional medical treatment where the evidence is
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