W2 Complimentary And Alterantive Medicine

Question 1

What is meant by complimentary medicine?

Answer 1

When a non mainstream practise is used alongside a conventional mainstream biomedicine

Question 2

What is alternative medicine?

Answer 2

The use of non-mainstream practice is used instead of conventional biomedicine

Question 3

How does the British government define complimentary and alternative medicine?

Answer 3

A broad domain of healing resources that uses multiple different healing methods, practises and systems and accompanying theories. These are not in line with the dominant health system practises of the society or culture.

Question 4

What is common between alternative and complimentary medicine?

Answer 4

Dubious accreditation - no leading regulatory health authority
Higher patient satisfaction then western conventional - normally as more attention to patient, more personalised and non invasive e
Based on different epistemology (different theory of knowledge or how provve things to be true) than biomedicine so not yet proven

Question 5

What types of CAMs is considered regulated?

Answer 5

Osteopathy and chiropractic
There is no statutory professional regulation of other CAMs hence its practise is not illegal as long as patients are willing to trust and pay for it

Question 6

What are the five different categories of alternative and contemporary medicine?

Answer 6

Alternative medical systems
Mind body intervention
Biologically based treatments
Manipulative and body based methods
Energy therapies

Question 7

What are alternative medical systems?

Answer 7

Complete systems of health practise developed outside western biomedical approaches

Question 8

What is meant by mind body intervention?
What are some examples?

Answer 8

Using behavioural, social and spiritual approaches to health
Mind body methods such as yoga, hypnosis, meditation
Religion and spirituality such as prayer and confession
Social and contextual areas - community based approaches and intuitive diagnosis

Question 9

What is meant by biologically based treatments?

Answer 9

Natural and biologically based practises interventions and products.
Often overload with conventional such as dietary supplements

Question 10

What are some examples of biologically based treatments?

Answer 10

Phytotherapy or herbalism - plant derived
Special diet therapies - vegetarian
Orthomolecular medicine - nutritional and food supplements, combination of prevention and therapeutic therapies
Pharmologicql, biological and instrumental intervention

Question 11

What is meant by manipulative and body based methods?

Answer 11

Based on manipulation and/or movement of the body

Question 12

What are some examples of manipulative and body based methods of CAM?

Answer 12

Chiropractic medicine
Message and body work
Unconventional physical therapies such as hydro-therapy, light therapy etc

Question 13

What is an example of reflexology?

Answer 13

Type of massage that involves applying different amounts of pressure to feet, hands and ears.
Based on the theory that these body parts are connected to certain organs and body systems like a topographic map
Relieving at the foot levels can treat the internal organ.

Question 14

What is meant by energy therapy?

Answer 14

Using subtle energy fields in and around the body for medical purpose.

Question 15

What are some examples of energy therapies?

Answer 15

Therapeutic touch
Reiki (life force energy)
External Qi Gong
Bio-electromagnetic - use of unconventional electromagnetic fields for medical purposes.

Question 16

What treatments are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine?

Answer 16

Acupuncture
Chinese herbal remedies
Music therapy
Colour therapy
Massage

Question 17

What methods are commonly used to diagnose in traditional Chinese medicine?

Answer 17

Posture
Colour skin
Tongue
Chinese pulse (pulse points of radial in both hands related to internal organ)
Feeling of energy (chi or yin and Yang)
Way of speaking
History - symptom, lifestyle, living and family circumstances, diet, work, relationship satifaction and sexual health.

Question 18

What is the hierarchy of health treatments in traditional china?

Answer 18

Start with traditional Chinese medicine - acupuncture, music and colour therapy.
If still ill - prescribe a brew with traditional herbs
Then if concerned will refer all to the department of biomedicine

Question 19

What push factors encourage people to use complimentary and alternative medicine?

Answer 19

Normally pusshed away from biomedicine
Dissatisfaction with medical encounter
Concern of side effects over conventional treatments
Biomedicine unable to cure conditions

Question 20

What are the pull factors towards complimentary and alternative medicine?

Answer 20

More responsibility and control over health
More personalised to individual life and circumstances
Treats the whole body
Considered more natural or safe/clean or naturalistic than technology in western medicine
Egalitarian patient practitioner relationship - more equal and engaged in the short and long term
Cultural normality

Question 21

What is meant by epistemology?

Answer 21

The theory of knowledge
How we decide to collect, interpret and use information to determine what is true as in what is a justified fact or opinion.

Question 22

What is the epistemology in biomedicine?

Answer 22

Evidence based medicine
Truth is understood by observation, validation, replication of results and quantitative statistics (positivism).
Validate results through randomised control trials.
People and illnesses are grouped which allows clinical guidelines to be followed

Question 23

What is wuxing music therapy?

Answer 23

Listen to music designed to heal a specific organ or health condition

Question 24

What are the different aspects of epistemology that are different between biomedicine and CAM?

Answer 24

Theory of knowledge: positivism v subjectivism
Validity of research: Randomised controlled trials v qualitative
Different body models: body as matter v body as energy
Different health care models: clinical guidelines v personalised holistic care
Different models of person: social v inner self.

Question 25

How is the aura used in alternative medicine?

Answer 25

All life forms have an aura
Healers can see human auras - vary widely in size, density and colour.
Reflect personality, mood, emotions, immune system and expereinces
Thought to shrink back when ill
Some links to phatom pain - aura of limb still there so can still be felt and treated.

Question 26

What are the different energy points used in CAMs?

Answer 26

Merdians - passage of energy flow through body, connects to organs.
Acupressure points - areas where energy can be altered
Nadis - channels of energy, connect chakras and connect to the CNS
Chakras - seven centres of spiritual powers in the body.
Ilness can be from a fulat or blockage in some of these energy points

Question 27

Why is belief important in CAMs energy therapies?

Answer 27

Need to be comfortable and relaxed for energy to be unblocked and flow inorder to feel better - will not work if a person is stressed.

Question 28

What is the benefit of the health care model in complimentary and alternative medicine?

Answer 28

protocol and standards vary based on the individual, treatment is designed around the person not the illness
Leads to a dialogue between the practitioner and patient.
Recognises importance of hollistic self
Success of the treatment depends on how it is interpreted by the patient

Question 29

What is the difference between the social and inner self?

Answer 29

Inner self - composed of attitudes, feelings, desires and abilities of the individual - can be thought of as a person trus nature or sole. Used in CAM.

Social self - how we percieve ourself in relation to others, influence by interpersonal relationships and reactions of others, use of language to communicate to others and interact with others.

Question 30

What are the unique features of complimentary and alternative medicine?

Answer 30

-Focus on self healing capacities of body
-Emphasise restoration of health not removal of sickness
-Work with not against symptoms.
-Focus on individuality
-Focus on a holistic or intergrated human being
- Patients encouraged to sense meaning of illness
- no fixed beginning or end, when patient is ready
- therapies are harmless, safety is sacred
- more effective at chronic pain
- patient is partner
-respects alternative world views

Question 31

Why should health care organisations support complimentary and alterantive medicine practises?

Answer 31

Respect for other cultures and individuals health systems - use more than one system
Reduce biomedical health care costs if effective
Orientated towards self healing - useful in chronic patients who are being encouraged to self manage conditions
Adopt useful aspects - supports importance of practitioner-user interaction
Some CAM practises are on the rise and are becoming part of medical institutions to ensure safe access