Benchmark Assignment: Non-Traditional Healthcare Practices

NON-TRADITIONAL HEALTH CARE PRACTICES

HLT 324V Week 5 Assignment

Non-Traditional Healthcare Practices

Introduction

Most of the oldest civilizations and cultures adopt non-traditional healing practices in order to find cure for the disease. These non-traditional practices have also formed a part of their religion. Some of the non-traditional methodologies adopted in healthcare are osteopathy, mind-body medicine and naturopathic medicine (Simó et al., 2015).

Non-Traditional Health Care Practices in Chinese Culture

The Chinese population suffers from a wide range of health problems. For conducting a research on unconventional medical or healthcare practice it is important to adopt a holistic approach for finding the solutions. The randomized controlled trials are used for eliminating self-bias in the testing and implementation of a methodology or framework (Felton et al., 2014).

One of the most common unconventional practices adopted by the Chinese people is to eat dog meats in high quantity. This practice is causing major health problems to the people. A large portion of the Chinese population is suffering from trichinosis infection. The dog meat eating habit has caused a major split in the society. According to the medical experts, dog meat is harmful for human health. The herbivores meat is considered to be healthy for human body. Dog meat results in disturbing the immune system and raises the level of cholesterol in a human body (Li et al., 2017).

In recent time the dog meat festivals have become controversial in China. The animal activists have raised their concerns about these unhealthy practices. Many of the international organizations have also demanded ban on Yulin festival of dog meat (Kerr and Dan, 2015).

Non-Traditional Health Care Practices in American Culture

There is over-reliance among the American population on the use of anti-depressants in curing a disease. The over-dosage of anti-depressants results in causing health problems to the people. There is a strong correlation between unemployment rates, alcoholic consumption, suicide attempts and anti-depressants. As per the research (Prieto-Alhambra et al., 2014) the female citizens of the United States consume twice the amount of anti-depressants as compared to male population. The anti-depressants were used in order to cure mood disorders. The research adopted multivariable approach in order to examine the various factors that influence the use of anti-depressants. The paper suggested that future studies should focus on examining the anti-depressant and anti-suicidal components found in patients suffering from anxiety and depression. It will enable the policy makers to formulate an effective long-term plan for addressing the issues of patients.

During the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of anti-depressants within America. It is not a favourable situation for the American society. There are numerous side-effects associated with the use of anti-depressants such as insomnia, nausea, constipation, drowsiness and fatigue (Kemp, 2014). The over-reliance on anti-depressant medicines is causing a decline in the mental and cognitive abilities of individuals (Kirmayer et al., 2017).

Non-Traditional Health Care Practices in Indian Culture

The non-traditional healthcare approach adopted in India is the increased use of alcohol for the treatment of diseases. This trend is mostly found among the young and middle-aged people. The percentage of people suffering from health issues due to the use of alcohol is in the range of 10 to 30 percent. It is a major issue in the Indian society. Therefore, it is imperative for the policy makers to adopt effective practices in order to reduce the health issues present in the people. Some of the major types of orders affecting the health are over-nutrition and malnutrition disorders and mental disorders. Also, the use of alcohol is resulting in mental and psychological disorders. The government and local administration is adopting policies in order to address this issue. There is a need for the authorities to focus on developing healthy practices among the individuals. The main aim should be to involve the younger generation in physical activities. It will also help in enhancing their cognitive mental abilities (Sunitha and Gururaj, 2014).

Non-traditional Health Care Options

The non-traditional health related practices adopted in the region are self-medication. The self-medication poses a major risk to the health of the individual. It has often been observed that the individuals visit the doctor in a condition where their health condition has been deteriorated. The individuals often prefer to treat the disease by themselves in the initial stages. The individuals visit the doctor as their health condition becomes adverse (Khantzian, 2014).

The work related stress and excessive use of alcohol influences self-medication process among the individuals. The stress, fatigue and unhealthy health practices adopted by the individual are the major causes of health problem. Frone (2016) has proposed a self-mediation framework and methodology in order to resolve the self-medication issues. The study examined the impact of alcohol usage on the individual’s health. The various aspects of work fatigue, work stress and alcohol consumption were examined in the research work.

The role of the pharmacist becomes critical in self-medication practices. It is the responsibility of the pharmacist to provide proper guidance to the individuals. Furthermore, the pharmacist can also highlight the adverse affects of self-medication practices to the individual. If there is a severe reaction as a result of using any medicine it must be dealt with at an early stage (Debrincat, 2014).

The trend of self-medication practices is higher among the younger generation. The youth is immature in taking healthcare decisions and often ignores the consequences associated with self-medication. The youth finds self-medication as a convenient way for resolving the health related issues. The youth is of the opinion that going to the medical doctor is expensive and costly and they do not have the resources to pay hospital and medical bills.

One of the main reasons for the increasing trend of self-medication is that medical services have become expensive with the passage of time. It becomes a challenge for the young generation with limited expenses to pay medical bills. Therefore, the most common approach of the individuals is to rely heavily on pain killers. It results in causing adverse effects to their health. The over-dosage of pain killer medicine has long-lasting adverse effects on the overall well-being of an individual.

References:

Debrincat, M. (2014). Patient Perspectives to Self Medication: Community Pharmacy. Anchor Academic Publishing (aap_verlag).

Felton, D. J., Kales, S. N., & Goldman, R. H. (2014). An update and review of unconventional metals testing and treatment. Toxics, 2(3), 403-416.

Frone, M. R. (2016). Work stress and alcohol use: developing and testing a biphasic self-medication model. Work & Stress, 30(4), 374-394.

Kemp, D. E. (2014). Managing the side effects associated with commonly used treatments for bipolar depression. Journal of affective disorders, 169, S34-S44.

Kerr, A., & Dan, Y. (2015). Tradition as Precedent: Articulating Animal Law Reform in China. J. Animal & Nat. Resource L., 11, 71.

Khantzian, E. J. (2014). The self-medication hypothesis and attachment theory: pathways for understanding and ameliorating addictive suffering. Addictions From an Attachment Perspective: Do Broken Bonds and Early Trauma Lead to Addictive Behaviours?, 33.

Kirmayer, L. J., Gomez-Carrillo, A., & Veissière, S. (2017). Culture and depression in global mental health: An ecosocial approach to the phenomenology of psychiatric disorders. Social Science & Medicine.

Li, P. J., Sun, J., & Yu, D. (2017). Dog “Meat” Consumption in China. Society & Animals, 25(6), 513-532.

Prieto-Alhambra, D., Petri, H., Goldenberg, J. S. B., Khong, T. P., Klungel, O. H., Robinson, N. J., & de Vries, F. (2014). Excess risk of hip fractures attributable to the use of antidepressants in five European countries and the USA. Osteoporosis International, 25(3), 847-855.

Simó, R., Ballarini, S., Cunha-Vaz, J., Ji, L., Haller, H., Zimmet, P., & Wong, T. Y. (2015). Non-traditional systemic treatments for diabetic retinopathy: an evidence-based review. Current medicinal chemistry, 22(21), 2580-2589.

Sunitha, S., & Gururaj, G. (2014). Health behaviours & problems among young people in India: Cause for concern & call for action. The Indian journal of medical research, 140(2), 185.