Incorporating Patient Knowledge in Japan and the UK by Miho Ushiyama

Author:Miho Ushiyama [Ushiyama, Miho]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781032090054
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2021-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

Alternative medicine offers hope.

Catherine Zollman and Andrew Vickers (1999) point to hope as a key part of the appeal of alternative medicine. The majority of the people trying out these treatments have already been under the care of modern medicine, and they have finally turned to alternative medicine for a cure after trying everything else. Alternative medicine is able to provide these patients with the hope of a cure.

Together with the perception of a lack of side effects, the hope of a cure for atopic dermatitis is also a major factor in attracting these patients to alternative medicine. Since patients are unable to cure their atopic dermatitis through standard treatment, they are forced to look for hope elsewhere. For patients who are feeling the limitations of standard treatment in particular, alternative medicine shines as the last beacon of hope for curing their atopic dermatitis.

The fact that alternative medicine offers patients hope is in contrast to modern medicine’s stance of denying patients unfounded hope. It is well known that the placebo effect is significant—that dosing patients with fake medicine that these patients believe is real can bring about an actual recovery. In fact, it is precisely to eliminate the possibility of this placebo effect that modern medicine carries out double-blind trials to measure the efficacy of medication. A double-blind trial involves splitting participants into two groups: one group that receives the drug being tested and one control group that receives a placebo. The efficacy of the drug is measured without either the participants or the doctors involved being aware of which group is which. In this way, the pharmaceutical drugs can be shown to exert their intended effects regardless of the participants’ state of mind.

Conversely, within alternative medicine, the state of mind of the patient is seen as a significant factor in influencing the efficacy of the treatment. By believing that they are healing, patients find peace of mind, and their natural ability to heal is enhanced. This can then lead to a full recovery, as numerous cases of trial participants show. In other words, it could be said that by convincing patients they will heal, alternative medicine proactively harnesses the placebo effect. For these reasons, forms of alternative medicine can be seen as providing patients with a potentially positive hope, but there is also the risk of the level of hope rising so high that patients become all the more dejected if the treatment fails (Zollman and Vickers, 1999).

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