Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Caragh Brosnan Pia Vuolanto & Jenny-Ann Brodin Danell

Author:Caragh Brosnan, Pia Vuolanto & Jenny-Ann Brodin Danell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Discussion and Closing Remarks

My intention in this chapter was to examine Bishkek’s NB network by demonstrating relations between heterogeneous actors. In this analysis, I focused on people who come with hope to improve their health through the use of the ‘miracle bed’; on the bed itself, which epitomises health and well-being; and on personnel who act as mediators and facilitators (or ‘limiters’) providing, in a specific way, access to this desired object. The associations and interactions between these actors were changing, subject to negotiations, and the network was fluent and fluctuating. Following the actors during my research I could observe that they changed each other and that the main non-human actor, the bed, strongly influenced the attitudes and practices of other actors. In fact, it acted (Latour 1996) as the human actors did.

In their search for better health, the patients tried to comply with the rules and requirements imposed by the personnel. As I noticed, they patiently participated in long presentations and agreed to give testimonials about the effects of the bed and other devices on their health, although it must have been tiring for the regular users. It seemed to me that they rather tended to treat it as a barrier they had to climb over before they could lie down on the bed. Strikingly, it was the materiality of the NB products which was at the centre of people’s interests, since the bodily contact with them was recognised as crucial for the therapy. The strategies of the NB products’ users in Bishkek were designed to make the most of these devices. If the patients managed to buy such a thing, they used it extensively and sometimes in ways unanticipated by the inventors. These findings are in line with the results of ethnographic studies which show how patients creatively appropriate medical technologies for their own ends (Hardon and Moyer 2014).

The NB networks in Bishkek are important parts of the local CAM landscape. It was evident during my research that the ‘Korean bed’ was well known among the city dwellers. Many research participants who were not actual users said that they had used it before and wanted to repeat this experience or at least had heard about the NB bed. The further development and durability of the NB networks prove its continuous popularity. Medical diversity in the city offers various therapeutic options, but many of them, both biomedical and provided by CAM institutions, are beyond the means of the majority of people. Among the reasons for the popularity of the NB medical services, people’s economic conditions definitely play a significant role. However, a special appeal of the ‘miracle bed’ to people should also be taken into account. This lies in its extraordinary qualities demonstrated by skilful advertisement and spread by word of mouth and accounts of personal experience. Its vision as a ‘family doctor’ solving all health problems seems particularly attractive. Nevertheless, from an ANT perspective, it is primarily the connections between numerous heterogeneous actors that can provide the stability of the network.

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