Complementary And Alternative Medicine

This book is about complementary and alternative medicine and how it is changing the way we view health and illness. It is written by North American and European social scientists and it describes the current context of CAM use and provides new models and techniques for understanding its future place in health care.

The rapid growth of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) calls into question the limits of what modern medicine can accomplis. Physicians' attitudes are in transition, and governments are unsure where this increasingly important phenomenon fits into the health care system. The challenge is to keep pace with the changing ways that people view health and illness, take reposibility for themselves, and incorporate CAM into their health care. This work brings together North American and European social scientists to identify who uses CAM, why they use it, and how they find out about it. Presenting research from psychology, sociology, anthropology and public health, they describe the current context of CAM use and provide new models and techniques for understanding its future place in health care. Review: It is important for orthodox medicine to understand this entire field...this book makes it clear that good medicine goes beyond merely treating disease. -Haile T. Debas, Dean of the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco A fine, thoughtful assessment of the way that complementary and alternative therapies and theories are transforming our view of medicine, health and healing. -James S. Gordon, Director, Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Washington, D.C. An illuminating and comprehensive overview. -Patrick C. Pietroni, Dean of Postgraduate General Pratice, University of London, UK