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Cam Research Paper

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In the last two decades, the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) by the American public has grown exponentially, especially among women, meriting the question of “why?”. CAM is defined as any medical practice not regularly taught in biomedical schooling, and that is undertaken to replace or to be used in conjunction with standard biomedical practice (Su, D et al, 2011). Examples of CAM typically used include acupuncture, chiropractic care, and herbal medicine, as well as deep-breathing exercise, yoga, meditation, and prayer. The recent surge in CAM use has been so extreme that it is now estimated that 40 to 45 percent of Americans currently practice CAM use, with 68 percent of Americans having used CAM at some point in their …show more content…

One of the most commonly cited reasons for using CAM is that it is perceived as “natural” (Hill-Sakurai et al, 2008). Women argue that previous generations of women were able to make due using natural methods, so they should be able to as well. However, despite their adamance that CAM is natural, there does not appear to be a clear consensus on what exactly “natural” means. One could assume that they mean to say that CAM is free from chemicals, but this is untrue on a basic level. Many CAM practices, such as herbal remedies, rely upon the chemicals in the herbs to combat the patient’s symptoms. One could assume instead that these women mean to say that CAM is free of processed substances, but in the case of homeopathy, this is not the case. Therefore, it is helpful to look at alternate reasons for women’s reliance upon CAM. Another approach is that CAM is compatible with the values and philosophical orientations of these women. (Hill-Sakurai et al, 2008). One of the core values mentioned is a focus on globalization, feminism, and inner life (Goldstein, 2002). The impact of globalization on CAM is fairly straightforward - CAM draws upon the traditional medicines of China, India, and the Americas, as well as traditional folk remedies of Western cultures. Examples of some of these practices include yoga, dong quai, acupuncture, and traditional Native American herbal remedies such as red clover. (Im, E. et al, …show more content…

Yet again, there is no singular answer, but it may be rooted in traditional perspectives of women’s health. Until very recently, women’s bodies had been perceived as analogous to those of men, aside from reproduction, and therefore they did not merit study. It was not until 1993 that women were even included in medical trials. The uniqueness of individuals was completely overlooked, despite the impact of individual experiences have on every aspect of health (Goldstein, 2002). Meanwhile, women’s reproductive health has been viewed in western medicine as “difficult” and described as “natural abnormal.” (Wiley, 2009). It is clear that this stems from male domination in the biomedical field over the years - it is a sort of ethnocentrism of the sexes. Women’s health has been medicalized for years, from hysteria to premenstrual syndrome. Because these syndromes do not appear worldwide, it appears that they are cultural constructs developed to explain women’s bodies in a way that medical science can easily understand. Even the mundane of women’s health is treated medically: menstruation is regularly described in negative terms, focusing upon the associated problems; the experience of pregnancy has become increasingly medicalized, with extensive testing, hospitalization, and surgery; and menopause is treated as a disease of aging, with hot flashes being described as an “estrogen

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