Alternative medicine, worker health, and absenteeism in the United States

Rybczynski, Kate

doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.11.003

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Research has demonstrated that NDs may play an important role in the health of individuals and society; for example, North American NDs (graduates of the accredited doctoral-level schools) have been shown to lower the risk of noncommunicable diseases, provide health care in a cost-effective way, and reduce employee absenteeism. 75 –79 It has also been demonstrated that the care offered by licensed NDs is considered culturally competent by underrepresented minority groups. 80 With expanding scope of practice in North America, and additional states/provinces regulating the professional standards, society is entrusting NDs with significant privileges.…”

Section: North American Naturopathic Medicine and Homeopathymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bell Tolls for Homeopathy: Time for Change in the Training and Practice of North American Naturopathic Physicians

Nelson

Perchaluk

Logan³

et al. 2019

J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

North American naturopathic medicine is a distinct form of practice that is woven into the larger fabric of integrative medicine; in a number of US states and Canadian provinces, naturopathic doctors enjoy a wide scope of practice, including the ability to make diagnoses, order tests, use medical technology, write prescription drugs, and perform minor surgeries. However, the basic premise of naturopathic medicine and its guiding principles—considering the whole person and supporting healthy lifestyle behaviors—is the unifying approach in clinical practice. In the 1970s, homeopathy—considered in many circles to be a hypothesis-driven, fringe form of alternative medicine—became embedded into the training and practice of North American naturopathic doctors. Since the earliest days of its theory (circa 1800), homeopathy has escaped, and continues to escape, biological plausibility; however, the persistence of this modality (and the insistence by both its consumers and practitioners that it provides benefit) speaks to the role of expectations, beliefs, values, agency, context effects, and the placebo-at-large. It is our contention that the progression of professional naturopathic medicine in the 21st century requires a major transition in how it approaches the subject of homeopathy. We propose that students should be encouraged to critically analyze the tenets of homeopathy, its lesser known history, and the idea of homeopathy as a biomedicine that simply awaits untold chemicophysical mechanisms. Furthermore, the modality of homeopathy should be incorporated into the larger context of placebo studies, narrative medicine, ethics, and psychotherapeutic techniques.

show abstract