Complementary therapies have been used for thousands of years, and many have been a long standing part of providing nursing care. In fact, Florence Nightingale spoke to the use of complementary therapies such as music. Europe is a greater consumer of CAM than the US. In fact, worldwide up to 90% of consumers report using CAM. Germany is a leader in the study and use of herbs. Immigrants to the US have brought with them their complementary therapies. With the increase in these therapies comes a debated and often resisted subject in our Western system of health care. With nearly two thousand complementary therapies, they go by many names and are difficult to define. They include a wide variety of health practices aimed at treating illness and/or promoting wellness that do not include the mainstream method of healthcare. Conventional healthcare focuses on treating a specific diagnosis and correct the cause of the problem. In …show more content…
Often, the cost of complementary services is not covered. Yet, people choose to spend billions of dollars annually out of pocket for complementary healthcare. A system of classifying complementary therapies has proved challenging. “Mind-body therapies, alternative health care systems, biological-based therapies, manipulative and body-based therapies, and energy therapies” are the categories suggested by the NCCAM (Snyder & Lindquist, 2001). An example of an energy therapy would be using magnets or healing touch to treat pain. Herbs are an example of a biological-based therapy. Treatments may move from being considered complementary to mainstream when it becomes accepted (usually evidence-based) practice. We are at a point now where research needs to be increased to learn about the safety and effectiveness of these therapies. Nurses are in a position to be the leaders in integrating CAM into Western
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2017). Complementary and alternative healing (C. Eliopoulos, Ed.). In Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends & management (7th ed., pp. 205-206). St Louis, MO: Elsevier, Inc.
The 'Standard Integrative medicine: Combining conventional with complementary. to improve patient care. ONS Connect, 25(11), 6-9. Retrieved from http://cinahl.com/cgi- bin/refsvc?jid=3344&accno=2010881233.
Joos S.,(2008). The role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Germany - a focus group study of GPs. BMC Health Services Research,8,127–140.Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2442431/
These alternative treatments include acupuncture, meditation, and therapy among many others.There is growing evidence that the desire for alternative medicine is expanding because people undergoing procedures in today’s health care system has had unmet needs as well as feelings of being uncared for (Acari & Flanagan, 2015). Alternative medicine is able to provide patients with treatments that provide relief for hard to cure problems such as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis. Many of these alternative treatments have been shown to be successful for various problems. The use of complimentary and alternative medicine as well as the open ended communication that holistic nursing provides is gaining popularity from patients who are fed up with traditional care and hospital
Complementary therapies are alternatives to conventional medicine, which advance conventional health care. These therapies have been around for a while but are becoming more popular in nursing and in health care (O`Regan et al., 2010, p. 35). It is shown that...
In today’s world, many people assume that the latest medical technology and treatments are always the best option. However, all over the world, different techniques for curing diseases and aliments are being used. These methods fall under the category of complementary and alternative medicine.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is slowly becoming better known all over the world. CAM encompasses various types of therapies, such as yoga, reflexology, chiropractic therapy, herbal therapy, ayurveda, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc. The evidenced-based research, recognition of disconnect between patients and also the positive and negative aspects of CAM modalities are reasons behind the increased attention it has gained in medicals schools all over the United States. (Hart, 2009, p. 287).
A treatment as complementary and alternative medicine with large number of philosophies, approaches, and methods has been classified into specific categories by experts accordingly to the type of method used in such treatment. Whether it is a biological medicine or diet, involves touch, involves tapping into some external energy, or tries to influence the body with the
About 40% of Americans use some type of method outside the mainstream of conventional medicine. When hearing medicines that are being described outside the mainstream, you hear terms like complementary, alternative, or integrated medicine (CAM). Complementary medicine is usually referred to as medicine being combined with conventional medicine. Alternative medicine is usually ref...
You live life how it is, you wake up go to work or school. You eat food and drink water. Then once you touch a doorknob to open the door, but you don’t know that the door knob was previously touched by a person who coughed into his hands. You get sick with a minor flu and a fever, so what is next? Do you go to your doctor knowing she can only see you in like two weeks? She is really busy being a professional in medicine and health. Do you go to the hospital, but is your 5 day flu really an emergency? Or do you just go to the closest CVS and buy Tylenol? Well, 30 percent of adults use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). CAM is a term describing health and wellness therapies. These typical therapies are not part of the
Di Sarsina, R., Alivia, M., & Guadagni, P. (2012). Traditional, complementary and alternative medical systems and their contribution to personalisation, prediction and prevention in medicine-person-centered medicine. EPMA Journal, 3(1), 15.