Abstract The paper explains that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) describes an array of healing modalities whose time for serious consideration and integration into the present healthcare system may have arrived. The paper states that homeopathy is the most controversial form of CAM and discusses the biases claiming that homeopathy treatment is an an implausible treatment, but affirms that homeopathy is an important topic for public health. This is due to the affordability, accessibility and efficacy of homeopathic remedies.
Outline:
The Perception of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Conventional Medicine
Homeopathy: Medicine of the past and the future
Implications for CAM in Public Health
From the Paper "It is possible that unfounded accusations of quackery and the like are but a smokescreen that has been thrown up to blur certain facts about CAM's increased appeal. It is also possible that conventional health practitioners and the pharmaceutical industry are striving to monopolize treatment in the US. It is more likely however, that evidence-based research, which has become the pinnacle of standards for excellence in testing the efficacy and safety of treatment with drugs, is an improper testing method for CAM (Novella et al., 2007). CAM uses few, if any pharmaceutical treatments, and should be held to appropriate contextual standards for what CAM in general, and each therapy in particular, claims. Homeopathy, for example, displays effects that are vastly different than the action of drugs, and requires fundamentally different protocols from which to study and gather evidence."
Abstract This paper looks at the problem of HIV/AIDS and the issue of complementary nutritional therapies that can be used to slow its progression and boost the immune system of HIV/AIDS patients. The paper also discusses the implications of utilizing these therapies and gives recommendations how to implement complementary nutritional therapies for HIV/AIDS. The paper discusses these treatments and also looks at how HIV/AIDS symptoms can be affected by proper nutrition and nutritional therapies and what kind of prevalence is noted with reduction of symptoms of HIV/AIDS when proper nutrition and nutritional therapies are employed.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 - Introduction to the Problem
Statement of the Problem
Background
Research Question
Hypothesis
Significance of the Study
Definition of Terms
Summary
Chapter 2 -- Review of Related Literature and Research
Introduction
Literature Review
Summary
Chapter 3 -- Results and Findings
Introduction
Analysis of Data
Findings
Summary
Chapter 4 -- Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations for Further Research
Conclusions and Implications
Summary
From the Paper "Although it would appear that the government in general is doing little to help communities from being completely decimated by the HIV/AIDS virus, there are some HIV/AIDS prevention measures that are being undertaken by some areas of the government that may apply to many individuals. In general, however, most of the information given is not culture specific and therefore will not apply well to some individuals and their cultural beliefs and feelings. The government is also lacking in getting the message out regarding what should be done once the virus is contracted and there has been almost nothing from the government regarding complementary nutritional therapies. Some of this information is important here, however, because it indicates what makes an HIV/AIDS program successful and may be helpful to educators in the future as they work toward finding various ways to get the treatment information out there to more people."
Abstract Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies including traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy and naturopathy have gained considerable popularity in recent years. This essay examines why many patients have chosen CAM therapies in preference to western medicine. The writer first defines CAM and then analyzes some of the reasons why CAM is preferred to modern medicine. This is then followed by a discussion of the risks and benefits of CAM and the need for regulation of complementary and alternative medicine.
From the Paper "Although CAM has benefits, there is not much research on their safety and efficacy or the existing research is of poor quality. CAM has numerous direct and indirect risks. CAM also is poorly regulated and many CAM practioners are not adequately trained. Although modern medicine is not exact and has its pitfalls, the fact remains that it is well researched and based on extensive and good quality clinical trials. The exact properties, benefits, and side effects of allopathic medicine are well-documented. Therefore, although some patients may choose CAM over modern medicine, CAM should be used only as an adjunct or when all other modalities of treatment have failed."
Tags: medicine treatment chinese, health care, herbal medicine, psychological homeopathy
Abstract This paper discuses the evolution and use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and its growing acceptance worldwide, including the United States. The paper also explains the reasons for CAM's growing popularity as an alternative to conventional medicine and sites several studies on the topic.
From the Paper "Complementary alternative medicine is popular throughout the industrialized world and its use is increasing in the United States. Herbal medicine, massage, mega vitamins, self-help groups, folk remedies, energy healing, and homeopathy, were the therapies that increased the most."
Abstract This paper looks at how some of the techniques and therapies used in alternative medicine are being integrated into the practice of conventional medicine. The paper explains that the combined use of alternative medicine with conventional medicine is known as Integrative Medicine.
From the Paper "Today people are often questioning the methods of traditional medicine but are not quite ready to abandon them in favor of alternative or complementary treatments. Some doctors and hospitals are delving into the benefits of alternative and complementary medicine, combining some of the techniques used with traditional therapies. They are creating a field called integrative medicine or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Integrative medicine combines the best of traditional medicine with alternative medicine to maximize benefits for the patient."
Abstract The paper focuses on the complementary, alternative and integrated forms of healthcare that are currently an issue within the American medical community. The paper discusses the definitions of these healthcare options and the percentages of people in the United States who use these forms of healthcare. The paper also looks at the negative aspects toward making these healthcare options available and reviews the author's insights.
From the Paper "The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is the central government body within the United States that oversees issues concerning complementary, alternative and integrated medicines. The center collects information regarding the use of these medicines worldwide, provides information for researchers wishing to conduct professional studies of CAM and acts as a consumer library for detailed CAM reports. Within the body of material that CAM generates are current descriptions for each of the three medicines considered. As the website states, the definitions, as well as the practices are under consistent change across the country while research begins specific findings on the industry, ("What", 2005, p.1). The NCCAM contends that the use of complementary, alternative and integrated medicines are continually changing practices which are not scientifically based and therefore are considered unconventional by the mainstream medical community ("What", 2005, p.1)."
A look at the role a family nurse practitioner could play in providing complementary and alternative medicines to patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 7 sources, 2006, $ 62.95
Abstract This paper discusses the proposed role of the family nurse practitioner in the provision of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, particularly chiropractic body manipulation. It is emphasized that this should be presented to the patient with caution and should be considered, due to the lack of clinical evidence, a complementary, palliative option.
From the Paper "The role of the family nurse practitioner is the provision of nursing care in the context of advanced nursing practices, which have come to include the diagnosis and treatment of some diseases as well as the palliation of others' suffering. Rheumatoid arthritis remains a challenging disease to treat and manage due to its chronic course. Although remissions can occur, rebounds can likewise occur, making this disease a lifelong one. In this light, it is quite understandable that some patients may express discontent over their current disease management and opt to experiment with unconventional therapies in parallel with (complementary) or in place of (alternative) current medical practices. As for allopathic practitioners, there is an inherent bias against chiropractic referral."
Abstract Scientists and historians might seem to encompass two separate professional worlds, but they really complement each other in many ways. By studying history, scientists can learn more about how we arrived where we did, and historians, by studying science, can learn more about science's contributions to what made us what we are.
Abstract This paper explains that the more common personal health care style is a collective health care process, called alternative medicine or complementary medicine, which includes elements of allopathic practice, non-natural medicine and surgery and of natural medicine. The author points out the idea that natural medicine is actually traditional medicine and should be looked at as such, with benefits and drawbacks, just as allopathic medicine is consider by many people. As an example of the presented natural health therapies; the paper relates that the Alexander technique, both a natural health practice and a restorative natural medical treatment, is a technique used to reduce repetitive motion injury by retraining the body to move in a different, more natural way.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Natural Health
Hydrotherapy
Herbalism
Eclectic Medicine
Natural Hygiene
Natural Philosophy
Natural Healing
Natural Medicine
Fingernail and Tongue Analysis
Iridology
Hair Analysis
Live Blood Analysis (Darkfield Microscopy) and Dry Blood Analysis
Antibody (IgE, IgG) Test for Food Allergies
Acid-Alkaline Balance (Ph Testing)
Alternative Therapies
Acupuncture
Acupressure
Air Supply Personal Air Purifier
Alexander Technique.
Aromatherapy
Astropulse
Ayurveda
Bathing Therapy
Biomagnetics (Magnetic Field Energy Therapy)
Electro-Dermal Screening
Chelation Therapy
Chi Lel
Chiropractic Treatment
Colloidal Silver Therapy
Colonic Therapy (Colon Lavage, Colon Hydrotherapy)
Color Therapy (Chromotherapy)
Crystal Healing
Dental Amalgam Mercury Removal
Detoxification Therapy
Reflexology
Shiatsu
Rolfing
Fasting
Feng Shui Balance
Flower Essence Therapy
Food Detoxification
Flotation Tank
Glandular Therapy
Prayer
Guided Imagery (Visualization)
Herbal Medicine
Homeopathy
Hydrotherapy
Hypnotherapy
Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy
Juicing
Kinesiology
Laughter (Play) Therapy
Light Beam Generator Therapy
Light Therapy (Solar Therapy)
Lymphatic Therapy
Macrobiotics Diet
Massage Therapy
Moxibustion
Music and Sound Therapy
Naturopathy
Osteopathy
Oxygen Therapy
Radionics (Radiesthesia Dowsing), Reflexology
Reiki (Therapeutic Touch)
Infrared Heat Therapy
Vitamin C Therapy
Yoga
Holistic Nutrition
Food Safety
Exercise
Conventional Medicine
Maintaining Health
From the Paper "In the time surrounding the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), in America, medicine was often seen as a part-time practice, conducted by laywomen and men who had a vocation for the healing arts or who inherited the knowledge from ancestral teachers. These healers who took care of their friends and families illnesses, injuries and births performed most medicine, outside the major centers of population. "Of course, these natural healing practices varied from locality to locality with major cities, like Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City having hospitals and other medical practices approaching those found in Europe.""
Abstract The paper explores the growing trends in antibiotic resistance and discusses non-conventional therapies for combating bacterial infection, which include use of probiotics. The paper explains how probiotics relieve bacterial infection, inflammation and help restore the balance of healthy bacteria in the gut. The paper also reviews evidence supporting the use of probiotics in lieu of or as complementary therapy when antibiotics are used to treat certain illnesses. The paper concludes that
more research should be conducted to examine the full potential benefits of probiotic therapy for patients with all kinds of diseases. The health and survival of mankind may depend on it.
Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Literature Review
Conclusions
Appendix
From the Paper "The prevalence of antibiotic resistance has stimulated much interest in the use of probiotics or live microbial supplements to combat infections otherwise resistant to traditional antibiotic therapy. In recent years overuse of antibiotics have stimulated antibiotic resistant strains of disease rendering antibiotics useless in many cases (Diped, 2003).
"While the discovery of antibiotics marked a changing point in modern medicine, in recent years scientists have begun to realize that the health benefits of antibiotics may be much more short lived than initially anticipated. As such researchers are struggling to find complementary and alternative methods for treating drug resistant forms of disease that antibiotic therapy once proved sufficient for."
Tags: infection, alternative, complementary, medicine
Abstract The paper defines the alternative and complimentary medical systems and relates that these systems have contributed to improving the quality of care delivery. The paper discusses several problems, however, with alternative and complimentary medicine and concludes that a judicious approach is necessary for developing integrated medical practices that optimise medical care.
Outline:
Introduction
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Conclusion
From the Paper "As the name suggests, alternative therapies are implied to be alternatives for conventional medical therapy; for example special dietary therapy for curing cancer as an alternative to radiation and surgical intervention. Complimentary therapy on the other hand is used alongside allopathic treatment. [NIH] From a health administrator's perspective, a thorough understanding of these complementary and alternative medical practices is necessary as integrated medicine is proving to be more effective in the treatment and management of many disease conditions. In 1998, the US government founded the NCCAM, for a scientific study and integration of successful alternative medical systems into the mainstream medical practice. [Edwin L.Cooper] "
Abstract The paper discusses how the traditional economic model of household income and consumer choice is based upon the microe-conomic principles of supply and demand. The paper highlights that in this classical paradigm, household demand is made up of the two basic components of desire and ability. Ability to buy is based on the household's net income and desire is based upon the utility derived from the allocation of that income. The paper explains how utility "is a measure of pleasure or happiness." The paper further explains this phenomena by showing that utility diminishes with the quantity purchased and that a good example of this is that if we have high oil prices the resultant high food prices drive up the cost of living. As the price of gas goes up, demand for complementary goods, like gas-guzzling vehicles goes down, all resulting in a decrease of expendable income.
From the Paper "Although economists allow for certain modes of irrationality, such as the 'diamond' effect, or how scarcity drives up price and demand for a non-necessary good, in contrast to the lower price of water, consumer irrationality often exceeds such bounds. To take a non-U.S. example, in Japan, a country that used to be one of the most self-supporting economies on the face of the earth, today, "the typical Japanese breakfast today includes toast made from imported wheat, ham from pigs that eat imported grain and eggs from chickens that eat grain."
Abstract This paper examines complementary and alternative medicines, also known as CAM. It briefly looks at the need to understand costs, drug interactions and the patient's knowledge and understanding of CAM concepts. The paper focuses on aromatherapy and discusses how it is used in healing. The paper then looks at how aromatherapy fits under the umbrella of CAM therapies.
From the Paper "Another study discovered that the use of aromatherapy after an operation lessoned the patient's feeling of nausea and vomiting. Antiemetics (drugs used to prevent nausea and vomiting) were reduced by almost 50% (Milivojevic, 2006). In small studies conducted in nursing homes, aromatherapy has indicated better sleep in some aging adults, and lavender aromatherapy hand massages showed the ability to lessen aggressive emotional behavior in patients with dementia from Alzheimer's. According to a group of geriatric psychiatrists, aromatherapy may ease the behavioral problems of people with dementia. Many older persons with dementia become nervous, agitated, and depressed, or display other behavioral problems, such as wandering, hostility, and sleep disorders. Researchers conducted trials of aromatherapy treatments of lemon balm and lavender oil, which patients either breathed in or used on the skin."
Abstract The paper explores the literature that discusses the legal issues involved in the issue of informed consent in any type of medicine, whether conventional or alternative. The paper also examines the lack of formal oversight authority in the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The most prominent factor in this literature review was a lack of academic articles on informed consent and CAM in peer-reviewed journals. The paper explains that this demonstrates that CAM still has failed to find acceptance in mainstream medicine, regardless of the growing trend towards its use.
Outline:
Legal Issues
Lack of Standards
Conclusion
From the Paper "The topic of informed consent is important for any portion of the legal profession. Informed consent assures that patients remain an integral part of the decision-making process. The field of complementary and alternative medicine has remained on the fringes of the medical community. This branch of medicine has avoided standardization until recently, when a hostile legal climate has forced it to adopt many of the components of formal medicine. Informed consent is an important part of this standardization process."
