Page 92 - Cultural Competence in Health Education

70 Cultural Competence in Health Education and Health Promotion

it again. In Southeast Asia, 70 percent of rural Indonesians have used CAM practices.
In the Western Pacific region, 95 percent of Chinese hospitals have units for traditional

medicine (WHO, 2001).
According to WHO (2001), the most commonly cited reasons for the use of these
healing practices in the world are that they are more affordable, more closely related
to the patient ’ s ideology, and less paternalistic than biomedicine. CAM and traditional
medicine constitute important sources of medical care in various nations around the
globe.

DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS IN NONTRADITIONAL HEALING
Health educators need to have a clear understanding of each of the terms used in non-
traditional healing, including complementary and alternative medicine, conventional
medicine, integrative medicine or healing, holistic health, and folk and traditional med-
icine. Understanding what each of these areas encompasses is important for health
educators because they are among the educational agents whom consumers of nontra-
ditional healing will consult for clarifi cation.

Complementary medicine and alternative medicine have been defined as the
medical and health care practices, systems, and products that are not included yet
in the conventional medicine delivery system and are now in the process of being
studied under rigorous scientific inquiry (National Center for Complementary and

Alternative Medicine [NCCAM], 2007a). In contrast, the conventional medicine
delivery system, also known as allopathic care or biomedicine, has been defi ned

as the body of scientific knowledge practiced by doctors of medicine, doctors of
osteopathic medicine, and allied health professionals such as psychologists, phys-
ical therapists, and registered nurses, among others (NCCAM, 2003). Health edu-

cators have been active educational agents in the field of conventional medicine;
now they need to increase their presence in the areas of complementary and alter-
native medicine.
Complementary medicine and alternative medicine are terms with distinct mean-
ings. Complementary medicine describes practices used simultaneously with conven-
tional medicine (NCCAM, 2007a). An example of this is the use of aromatherapy
following surgery to alleviate discomfort. In contrast, alternative medicine is used
instead of conventional medicine, as in using a specific diet for the therapeutic treat-

ment of cancer instead of using chemotherapy (NCCAM, 2007b). Health educators
may find that health care professionals have less initial resistance to becoming involved

in complementary medicine, because it acknowledges the value of conventional and
traditional healing.
Traditional medicine and folk medicine are often associated with CAM. These
approaches employ indigenous health traditions and cultural healing constructs involv-
ing the use of plants, animal remedies, mineral - based medicines, and spiritual means
(WHO, 2001).

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