Report Broken Link

Alternative vs. conventional medicines: a clash of culture or of science?

Abstract:

Entire communities of health care practitioners are squatting in encampments demarcated by their position on the use and efficacy of what are often called ‘alternative’ and sometimes ‘traditional’ medicines (Iwu & Gbodossou, 2000). Of course these camps are symbolic of only the strongest opinions polarising the debate. Still, the tone of the debate is sufficiently extreme as to make it impossible to forge a coherent and universally accepted definition of alternative medicine (Fulder, 1996). From my academic’s viewpoint, the borders defining these camps appear to be political, derived from ingrained differences in their cultures, rather than inherent differences in the medicines.

 view online article View Document

alternative medicine, complementary therapies, conventional medicine, drug safety and efficacy