Linked Life Data

14736364

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/14736364

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-1-22
pubmed:abstractText
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been defined largely in relation to conventional biomedicine. CAM therapies that are used instead of conventional medicine are termed "alternative." CAM therapies used alongside conventional medicine are said to be "complementary." "Integrative medicine" results from the thoughtful incorporation of concepts, values, and practices from alternative, complementary, and conventional medicines. The evolving process of integration between CAM and conventional medicine evokes new conceptual frameworks, as well as new terminology. Interview-based qualitative research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks to probe and develop this theoretical structure. Interviews with users and practitioners of CAM therapies have revealed four primary themes: holism, empowerment, access, and legitimacy (HEAL). These themes characterize CAM and contrast it with conventional medicine. CAM is said to be more holistic and empowering yet less legitimate than conventional medicine. CAM is more intuitive; conventional is more deductive. While CAM is perhaps more psychologically accessible to many patients in that it better reflects commonly held values, it is often less financially and institutionally accessible, at least for those with conventional health insurance and limited income. Substantive barriers--including economic, organizational and scientific differences, as well as an apparent widespread lack of understanding--continue to thwart attempts at integration. More and better evidence is needed if CAM therapies are to be accepted by mainstream medicine. State-of-the-art research methods developed by conventional science will be needed to test CAM therapies. Conventional medicine, however, has much to learn from CAM. By incorporating a more holistic, empowering and accessible therapeutic approach, conventional medicine could build on its present legitimacy, and thereby enhance its power to "HEAL."
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
1075-5535
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
9
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
937-47
pubmed:dateRevised
2005-11-16
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2003
pubmed:articleTitle
Themes of holism, empowerment, access, and legitimacy define complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine in relation to conventional biomedicine.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 777 South Mills, Madison, WI 53715, USA. bbarrett@fammed.wisc.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review