Nontraditional Health Care Practices

Nontraditional Health Care Practices

Nontraditional healthcare practices are becoming more popular around the world since more patients are considering these treatment options. There is diversity all over the world. It is thus critical to ensure transcultural healthcare practices when offering healthcare services to patients. Different cultures have different believes concerning healthcare practices. These beliefs may be related to the disease process or treatment procedures. Nontraditional healthcare practices focus on holistic care rather than managing signs and symptoms of the ailments. Healthcare professionals must thus know the different cultural diversities of their patients to implement holistic care.

Nontraditional Healthcare Practices in Different Cultures

Hilot

The “hilot” is a Filipino medical practice. The “hilot” utilizes massage and manipulation to heal ailments (Rebuya et al., 2020). There is no standardized technique since it differs from one practitioner to another. The practitioners use massage oils and aromatherapy to achieve their healing outcomes. The main conditions that are healed by the “hilot” include obesity, heart conditions, and arthritis (Rebuya et al., 2020). Hilot uses supernatural aspects since the practitioners claim that they get their abilities from supernatural sources (Rebuya et al., 2020).

Saunas

Saunas are used by individuals from Finland to improve their health status. The Finnish culture believes that the prevalent utilization of saunas can help an individual with many types of conditions and ailments since saunas remove toxins after heating up the human body (Hussain & Cohen, 2018). This practice has been widely accepted in this country as a viable healthcare option for most people. However, many countries do not see a sauna as a treatment option that can cure diseases but rather a relaxation technique that can be used to relieve stress.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a very common Chinese nontraditional healthcare practice. Most Chinese movies and TV shows have this practice, and hence, it is a very popular method among many people. Acupuncture involves inserting needles into meridians found in several vital points of the body (Kawakita & Okada, 2014). These meridians manipulate different functions in the human body, and their manipulation will improve an individual’s health by healing different types of chronic conditions. It explores the systems and energies in the body to modulate internal healing (Kawakita & Okada, 2014). Acupuncture is widely accepted in China. Acupuncture can be used to treat pain from cancers and migraines (Kawakita & Okada, 2014). It provides a relaxing environment that prevents wound healing.

How these Practices Affect Health and Wellness

Hilot is preferred to conventional medicine, especially in rural Philipines, since it is cheaper. However, hilot does not impede the prevention of diseases in the Philippines. It is not considered a replacement for conventional medical solutions, but it is used to help individuals with chronic pains such as arthritis manage their pain. Even though saunas are common in Finland, they have not replaced conventional medicines. People from Finland still believe that conventional medical care from doctors and nurses is better than using saunas as the only treatment option.

Chinese acupuncture is different from the two cultures that have been discussed above. Acupuncture culture is considered a medical practice, and many facilities in China offer acupuncture as an actual medical practice (Kawakita & Okada, 2014). Acupuncture has been in the Chinese culture for many years, and hence, many individuals have attachments to it. This practice is embraced in the Chinese culture, and many individuals use it as a medical practice. There have been many critics of acupuncture, with opponents claiming that acupuncture impeded health improvement rather than promoting it.

Local Nontraditional Healthcare Options

In this area, there are very few nontraditional healthcare practices. There is a local store that deals in herbal remedies, including St. John’s Worts, among others. There are also facilities that offer dry saunas, but these are considered more for relaxation purposes than medical purposes like in Finland. The other nontraditional practice in my locality is acupuncture. However, these practices are not popular in my locality. There are very few people using these healthcare options. The individuals who prefer them are naturalists and gym enthusiasts.

My locality has a young population who are not enthusiastic about nontraditional healthcare practices. Most of these options are popular among aged individuals with chronic conditions such as hypertension, arthritis, and diabetes. This shows that these nontraditional healthcare options may not be popular in this locality in the near future since they are more common in areas with older individuals (Kristoffersen et al., 2018). Age is a good predictor of the uptake of nontraditional healthcare options.

Rise of the Use of Nontraditional Healthcare Practices

One of the most common reasons for the rising use of nontraditional healthcare practices is the ever-rising costs of conventional medicine (Tangkiatkumjai et al., 2020). Many individuals feel that conventional medicine is too expensive, and hence, they cannot afford the costs associated with hospital visits, drugs, and medical procedures. Since many people cannot afford conventional medicine, they choose the alternative means that they can afford. The alternative is nontraditional healthcare practices.

Many individuals with terminal conditions such as cancer prefer using nontraditional treatment options compared to conventional medicine. These patients use this option as a last resort due to the failure of conventional medicine. They believe that nontraditional treatment improves physical and emotional well-being and quality of life and has minimal side effects compared to conventional medicine (Tangkiatkumjai et al., 2020). Many individuals also believe that nontraditional medical treatments are safe with minimal side effects. They believe that they benefit from alleviating symptoms, preventing disease, and maintaining well-being (Tangkiatkumjai et al., 2020). Many people are resorting to nontraditional medical practices due to dissatisfaction with conventional medicine. The other reason for the popularity of nontraditional healthcare practices is the rise in ‘naturalists”. These are people who prefer using natural products compared to chemicals in treating their ailments.

Conclusion

Different cultures have different nontraditional medicines that they prefer. The Chinse use acupuncture, while the Philipines prefer hilots. Nontraditional healthcare practices thus have cultural significance from the areas in which they are practised. They should not, however, replace conventional medicine. Instead, they should be integrated into one another. This does not mean that nontraditional healthcare practices such as acupuncture are not beneficial. They are since they have been used since time immemorial to improve health status. They should not replace conventional medicine, especially in serious ailments such as cancer and hypertension. These conventional medicines are tested and proven to be efficacious. It can be argued that nontraditional medicines work through a placebo effect. Mainstream healthcare professionals must thus collaborate with nontraditional medicine practitioners to integrate these practices and ensure that patients reap maximum benefits.

References

Hussain, J., & Cohen, M. (2018). Clinical effects of regular dry sauna bathing: A systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1857413

Kawakita, K., & Okada, K. (2014). Acupuncture therapy: Mechanism of action, efficacy, and safety: a potential intervention for psychogenic disorders? BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 8(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0759-8-4

Kristoffersen, A. E., Stub, T., Musial, F., Fønnebø, V., Lillenes, O., & Norheim, A. J. (2018). Prevalence and reasons for intentional use of complementary and alternative medicine as an adjunct to future visits to a medical doctor for chronic disease. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2179-8

Rebuya, N. R., Lasarte, E. S., & Amador, M. M. (2020). Medical pluralism, traditional healing practices, and the Partido Albularyo Challenge in inclusion. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 08(06), 72-79. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2020.86007

Tangkiatkumjai, M., Boardman, H., & Walker, D. (2020). Potential factors that influence usage of complementary and alternative medicine worldwide: A systematic review. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-03157-2

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Nontraditional Health Care Practices

Research different popular nontraditional healthcare practices. Write a 1,000-1,200-word paper exploring nontraditional health care practices and include the following:

• Describe nontraditional health care practices in different cultures. Compare at least three cultures.
• Explain the importance of these practices in providing holistic and quality health care.
• Identify the nontraditional health care options in your areas, and identify the number of people choosing to use them over traditional medical practices. Propose reasons why the number of people using nontraditional health care options is rising.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

Nontraditional Health Care Practices

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.