Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products” that is used in conjunction with or in place of conventional medicine (Kemper, et al., 2008, p.1374). Many people make use of CAM such that one third of the adults in the United States have used it (p.1374). Some of the CAM that are being used today include biologically based vitamins, diets, or food supplements (p.1377); the “manipulative and body-based practices” like “chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, massage therapy, reflexology, Rolfing, Bowen technique, and Trager approach” (p.1378); “mind and body medicine […] such as relaxation, visual imagery, tai chi, qi gong, yoga, meditation, prayer, hypnosis, biofeedback, diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and cognitive-behavioral therapies”(p.1378); and acupuncture (p.1379).
Although there had been risks in consideration to their effectiveness or the possibility of having adverse effects in treating ailments and diseases, complementary and alternative medicines have still flourished. These health care alternatives were found to be “more congruent with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and life” (p.1375). Furthermore, it is also because of cultural values and beliefs that many people accept using CAM. Also, as many people believed in the effectiveness of CAM, there were also a number of cases that were proven to have healed the ailment.
Moreover, there had always been consideration of biomedical ethics grounded on these principles: “respect for patients’ autonomy; nonmaleficence or avoiding harm; beneficence or putting the patient’s interest and well-being first; and justice through fairness in providing access to essential care” (p.1381). It is also in this light that the belief in complementary and alternative medicine has displaced allopathic medicine, which included very harsh practices like bleeding or use of toxic drugs.
Reference
Kemper, K. J., Vohra, S., Walls, R., the Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Provisional Section on Complementary, Holistic, and Integrative Medicine. (2008). The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pediatrics. Pediatrics, 122,1374-1386.