Traditional Medicine Versus Western Medicine

In addition, relying on a doctor who does not share the same beliefs as one does can become fearful. Trusting the doctor for full treatment is necessary but when from a different cultural background it can prevent them on trusting them. According to a research article, Cross- Cultural Medicine a Decade Later, clearly states “when the basic belief structure of biomedicine and another set of health beliefs differs radically, problems and frustrations almost inevitably arise” (Barker, 1992, p.249). The central purpose of the research was to show whether or not health beliefs between patient and doctor differs will they find it difficult to interpret the symptoms and treatment variations to accommodate their beliefs. However, the doctor having faith in one’s health beliefs can sometimes be beneficial for the patients because they’ll be fully understood and not misjudged as being crazy. As stated by the author, for the article Chinese Health Beliefs of Older Chinese in Canada, “the findings support the previous prescriptive knowledge about Chinese health beliefs and illustrate the intergroup socio-cultural diversity that health practitioners should acknowledge in their practice” (Lai, 2009, 38). Like the Chinese, Hmong’s too first go to their shaman for traditional treatment rather than going to the doctor; to them an illness and their healing is more of a spiritual thing that

Nao Kao and Foua had been conflicted with abiding with the Hmong ways to not seek physician help. Certain parts of Hmong culture, such as taboos against procedures, beliefs of disease origins, and power structures within the family and Hmong clan often conflict with western culture of medicine. But when the Lee’s had not taken one of their children to the hospital, his soul was lost, and he died. Considering this incident and their lack of knowledge of Lia’s condition, the Lee’s had to involuntarily comply to western culture and take Lia to the doctors, as their last line of defense. It is important to note here that as a provider, I must be aware of my own assumptions of care. The doctors’ goal of treatment was to use medication and procedures to find out what caused her seizures and treat it with various medications. Lia’s parents considered her disease a blessing as a chance to become a shaman and a curse that caused great stress over the family. This often resulted in misunderstandings between the physicians and the Lee family as the Lee’s perceptions of Lia’s illness were not in line with the doctors.

Medicine, to the modern day world, is a way of healing the sick and helping people experience life to their full potential. It is an ingredient of a culture that allows the culture to survive through decades and centuries at a time. But what if the medicine that we know as helpful is actually harmful? When a child cuts their knee the first thing an adult would do is check the scrape and then assess the damage. After assessing the damage, the adult would normally plan a course of treatment to ensure the child would not lose a limb in the near future. After treating the child with a mixture of antibacterial wipes, bandages and ice cream, what if the child is not better, but actually worse? That is what happens when you compare the medical practices of the Hmong to the medical practices of the Americans, both cultures believe that the others will cause more damage than good in respect to healing the soul and body.

The findings of this survey showed that 73.6% agreed with the use of traditional medicines for health maintenance, 79.2% agreed for benign illness, such as colds or sprained ankles, and 90.3% agreed for palliative care (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). Where they disagreed the most was with the use of traditional healing in the intensive care units, only 16.9% agreed with the use of this treatment for serious illness, such as cardiac or respiratory compromise, whether in the hospital (21.2% agreed) or as outpatients (26.4% agreed). Nearly half (48.6%) agreed with using traditional medicines for chronic illnesses, such as non-insulin dependent diabetes or Parkinson's disease (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). One instance where physicians were unwilling to allow their patients to use Native medicine was while the patient is in the hospital, because the physician could be held legally responsible for any treatment administered while admitted under their care. There is also the problem of differentiating between legitimate Native healing practitioners and those who would take advantage of anyone not aware of the proper rituals and techniques that need to be performed (Zubek, 1994, p. 1929). This could be overcome by having a formalized licensing organization such as is used by Western practitioners (i.e. American Society of Clinical Pathology [ASCP]). That poses another problem though, as to whether traditionalists would be willing to have such an organization.

After reading Alvord and Cohen’s The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, I found myself looking at the world in a new spiritual way. Alvord is known to many as the first Navajo woman surgeon. Having grown up as a Navajo with a white mother, her life was a constant mix of her Navajo ways and the ways of the Western world. One of the main philosophies of her Navajo culture of healing that she focuses on is ‘walking in beauty’. The Navajo do not view the body as a single being but as a connection to the rest of the world. With the belief that everything is connected, the Navajo believe that negativity in any aspect of one’s life will bring something bad to the person later. A harmonious life, one in which their mind, body and spirit is positively connected to those around them, leads to a healthy one. When Alvord decided to go against her Navajo ways and enter the world of Western medicine she did so with the goal to bring the healing philosophies of her people with

Alvord observed the power of belief could have positive or negative influence in her Navajo patients. One of her patient, Carolyn, had a breast cancer that she believed that was caused of her bad deed. Carolyn was hesitant to have a surgery to remove her cancerous tumor. However, having a medicine man performed a Night Chant ceremony made her feel calmer, as if her body’s harmony was restored, and prepared her mentally for her lumpectomy. Many of her patients dealt with cancer in different ways but a sing performed by a hataalii gave a dimension to their cure that helped those patients cope better with their conditions. Dr. Alvord discovered that patients undergoing chemotherapy reacted well to the presence of a traditional healer at bedside. Thus, help with the healing process (Alvord, 1999, pp. 94-102). She also explained that the feelings of both the patient and the surgeon could affect recovery time, postsurgical complications, and even whether the patient lived or died. Evelyn, was one of Dr. Alvard patient to suffered a stroke complication that might be cause by lack of harmony during her surgery. Dr. Alvord thought that the combination of her anger, the nurse’s inattentive and defensive posture, and Evelyn’s fear had influence the complication to happen. Later, she attempted to create harmonious relationships within my personal life and within the staff at the hospital (Alvord, 1999, pp.

an American Indian male with diabetes who receives care at a non-tribal clinic. He reports that he does not feel much of a connection with his provider or his clinic, and says that he feels misunderstood when he tells his provider about his traditional healing practices.  He struggles to remember to take his medications and sometimes does not take them because he feels that they don’t work.

According to the Hmong culture a shaman helps to cure the soul. A doctor cures biological problems. As we learn throughout this class there is a difference between an illness and a disease. An illness or a disease may have the absence of the other. In most cases an illness can be present without a disease. In the case of Lia there was a presence of both Illness and disease. If txiv neb and the American doctor would have balanced their practices and learned from each other this would have affected the way the Lees thought about medicine. I believe that faith plays an important role in Lia’s case if the doctors would have understood the way that txiv neeb thought and vice versa the lees would have trusted American doctors and medicine more. Learning from txiv neeb would have also helped the American doctors in other cases when treating Hmong by understanding their culture. It is important for the doctors to understand the Hmong culture and specifically the way that a txiv neeb works because in Merced a third of the population were Hmong and used a tixv neeb as their main source of healing.

Healthcare is an ever changing entity with an ever changing population of clients. In current day 2016, the United Sates has become a melting pot of many different cultural backgrounds, which has led to changes within the system to accommodate the patient base. Unfortunately, not all changes have been able to effectively reach any and all persons from every background. We still see language and cultural barriers that have direct correlation to the inability to seek healthcare and or the ability to change cultural perspectives to ensure healthy lifestyles. Within this paper, the health of American Indian and Alaskan Native populations will be discussed along with the barriers to care and the

Low back pain (LBP) is an issue that affects patients, healthcare professionals, and society on a global scale. With advancements in allopathic medicine, LBP is better managed than ever before—however, its methodologies in diagnosing and treating LBP—and its results—are inconsistent. For this reason, many patients and healthcare professionals are turning to alternative treatments such as traditional Chinese medicine, which is now considered one of the leading treatments of LBP.

Alternative medicine is novel to many western healthcare practices today, however its roots date back to more than 5000 years ago. The origin of alternative medicine is difficult to illustrate because it has influences from many diverse cultures including indigenous populations in the Americas and European civilians such as Romans and Greeks. However, many historians credit the Eastern traditions such as Ancient Chinese, Ancient Indian, and Ancient Egyptian practices as the true pioneers to alternative medicine as we see today. Alternative medicine has transversed to the West as many healthcare practices are in the pursuit of integrating eastern medicine ideals to their already established western medicine. However, how do these practices

The practice of traditional medicine among the people of Nigeria in the Western region of Africa transcends the advent of Bio-Medicine and occupies a prominent position in the delivery of health care.

Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, is one of the oldest systems of medicine to exist among humans, and it is extremely prominent to this day. According to legend, the system has been in use since the third millennium BCE. The views of such an old system differ greatly from those found in modern western medicine. Perhaps most prominent is the fact that TCM focuses more on the patient than the illness. The system considers the human to be a microcosm of the universe, implying that the body is affected by the traditional Taoist forces of yin and yang, the five elements, and Qi in the same way the cosmos are. Each of these forces act upon the “zang fu,” or organ system, directly influencing a patient’s health. Healers use qigong to assist in the restoration of stability in the body. Achieving balance, both internally and externally, is the most important aspect of healing in TCM.

The Role of Alternative Medicine Important in a Society Traditionally Dominated by Western Style Medicine: Australia

Before we get into what exactly African Traditional Medicine is we have to talk about what exactly Traditional Medicine is in general. Traditional Medicine is often referred to as folk medicine or alternative medicine. Folk Medicine is one of the oldest and most traditional forms of a health care system in Africa and has been tested time and time again. This method is an ancient form of healing that humans have used to cope and deal with many diseases that have threatened human existence. Which explains why Traditional Medicine is so broad and diverse. Different cultures have developed different forms of homegrown healing methods which explains why there is no universally accepted definition to the term of Traditional Medicine (Traditional Medicine). “According to the World Health Organization, Traditional Medicine is “the sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health, as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illnesses.” Traditional healer, on the other hand, is “a person who is recognized by the community where he or she lives as someone competent to provide health care by using plant, animal and mineral substances and other methods based on social, cultural and religious practices”” (Traditional Medicine).