Medical Sociology Chapter 13

Alternative views of health in ill health: Individuality and Holism

- All alternatives focus on this - What's normal in biomedicine is average (normal temp, blood pressure) - Alt. approaches look at body as complete integrated system, recognizing that each person is slightly diff from others - Treatment varies through person; tailored to individual people - This doesn't occur in biomedicine, standard approach (docs could get in trouble for conducting this

Folk Healing (Alternative Traditional)

- Beliefs in practitioners of specific alternative therapies by herbalists, spiritualists, and naturalists to promote health - Holistic-Contextual approaches - Focuses on mind, body, spirit, and social support - Examples: African American Healing, Curanderismo, American Indian healing

CAM Utilization

- Causes: • Religious, cultural, financial, pragmatic reasons • Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine/effects - Social Demography: • Study found that alternative medicine is Used more by White, more well educated, higher income, female • Reason: most alt med not covered by health insurance • Bi- Mobile distribution - ppl above middle class • Some turn to alt. med because don't have any choice • Females use alt. medicine more than males

African American Healing (Folk healing)

- Distinguishes between natural illnesses (which may be divine and requires repentance) or unnatural illnesses caused by evil influences or magic

Alternative views of health in ill health: Self-healing

- Everyone knows that its the body that ultimately heals itself - Among alternative goal of practitioner is facilitating the body to heal itself (less intervention)

Alternative views of health in ill health: Natural-Ecological Context

- Focus missing in biomedicine - Body is best suited to attain nutrients in their natural form - In 1960's= back to nature movement

NCCAM: Manipulative and Body-Based practices

- Focus on structures and systems of the body - Bones, joints - Ex: massage therapy, spinal manipulation

Christian Science Church

- Group that maintains that sickness and pain are an illusion - Spend time in prayer or religious education - No medicine, chemicals, blood transfusions -Resulted in a conflict b/w religious freedom - Parents refuse medical treatment for their children - Religious Freedom vs Parent's Rights Controversial when balancing children's rights to medical treatment against parents religious beliefs

American Indian Healing (Folk healing)

- Illness is seen as caused by soul loss, witchcraft, spirit possession, or violations of tribal taboos - Break clearly held values in a group= result in physical health illness - Practice is declining b/c fewer men have been trained

NCCAM: Mind and Body Medicine

- Interactions among brain, body - Ex: meditation to control stress, yoga, physical therapy, deep breathing

Wellness Lifestyle Approach

- Interrelationship of CAM use, health lifestyles (life choices & life chances), health promotion, and wellness - Having a meaning and purpose, captures being well - Being well allows people to better heal themselves - Being able to thrive (happiness)

Chiropractic (Alternative Modern)

- Manipulation of bones in the spinal column = relieves pressure on the nerves and thereby alleviate illness and pain - Key concept = self-healing - This is a very popular group - Discouragement of use of pharmecuticals

Curanderismo (Folk healing)

- Mexican American healers - Blend religion and medicine into a single approach, emphasize cause of disorders rather than symptoms, and do not distinguish natural from supernatural - Employs prayer and religious counseling alongside a variety of folk drugs and herbs

Alternative views of health in ill health: Wellness

- Most alternative approaches focused on increasing quality of life, integrated fitness; not just the absence of disease - The biomedical approach is more focused on the absence of disease

NCCAM: Other CAM practices

- Movement therapies, traditional healers, energy healers, traditional Chinese medicine - All cultures have a tradition healing system ○ Diff def. of what health is and how to heal it ○ Not part of biomedical paradigm

From Quackery to Complementary Winnick, 2009

- Study found Americans reported using some form of alternative medicine - Always been used by Americans, but considered underground - More on politics, not science - Reaction of Conventional Medicine (phases): 1) Condemnation = Attempt to obstruct CAM; doctors would threat patience to not see CAM 2) Reassessment = Struggled to come with grips with CAM 3) Integration = Found a way to work around CAM or with CAM - Physicians still Dominate medical position but open to CAM

Western Herbalism (Alternative Modern)

- The study and practice of using plan material for food, medicine, and health promotion - Use natural molecules unlike synthetic created molecules (i.e. aspirin) - All cultures have an herbal pharmacopoeia

Alternative traditional approach

- Toward Holistic Model, Metaphysical - outside of scientific perspective - Faith Healing - Folk Healing

Alternative Modern approach

- Toward Medical Model, Physical Science - Much more affiliated w/ medical model/physical science - Homeopathy - Osteopaths - Chiropractic - Western Herbalism

Homeopathy (Alternative Modern)

- Treatment based on drugs that produce similar symptoms to a given disease - Represents the body to heal itself (like vaccinations) - Ex: take spiders and dilute them w/ water 6x's .... Then after have someone drink the water ("energy" left)

Faith healing (Alternative Traditional)

- healing that comes from faith (power of suggestion, prayer, and faith in god) rather than medical means - Alleviation of symptoms - Relief from psychological distress - Acceptance of one's health or life situation - Redefining ailments as less serious or less medical ** Prayer is the most used healing mechanism in the US**

Osteopaths (Alternative Modern)

- physicians who combine manipulative procedures with conventional treatment - Require same training as MD's - More of a holistic approach

Alternative views of health in ill health: Bioenergy

-Focus on disruption in the flow of energy, alt. approach finds way to get people rebalanced - Use subtle energy approach

NCCAM: Natural products

-Use to prevent health problems or restore - Herbs, probiotics, more natural products, organic foods

NCCAM

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

CAM

complementary and alternative medicine

Alternative medicine

health care practices and products used in place of conventional medicine -provided by someone other than an MD