10-09-2016, 11:32 AM
1454377716-IALITERATUREREVIEW.docx (Size: 16.25 KB / Downloads: 20)
LITERATURE REVIEW
Dr. Margaret Chan (2015) of the W.H.O in opening remarks at the International Forum on Traditional Medicine said that developing countries use the best of both modern and traditional medicine in a carefully integrated and regulated way. She lamented the fact that “for many millions of people often living in rural areas and in developing countries, herbal medicines, traditional treatments and traditional practitioners are the main and sometimes the only source of health care”. The coordinator in Traditional Medicine for the World Health Organization Xiaorui Zhang (2001) in an internet article “Traditional Medicine” explained that traditional treatment is used widely in countries such as China, India, Africa, Latin America as well as the Caribbean. Like Chan (2015) Zhang’s study suggested that the use of traditional medicine is more widely used in rural communities and that it was often used to complement modern medicine. Based on the foregoing, the present study will investigate the rural community of Brazil, Trinidad to determine if indeed TM use is still practiced.
“One of the main reasons for the increasing use of traditional medicine is a growing trend for patients to take a more proactive approach to their own health and to seek out different forms of self-care” according to Zhang (2004) in a WHO book publication.However, Chan (2015) states that for millions of people TM is used as it is sometimes the only source of health care. In her study ‘Diary from the field: Traditional Medicine in Trinidad and Tobago’, Emilia Janska(2009)explained that there is about one doctor for every 1200 people in the country and this explains why TM practices were used as an informal health care system . Like Zhang (2001), Janska agreed that is it rarely a first choice and is used to supplement treatment especially in urban areas but is more widely used in the poorer areas of Trinidad and Tobago.
Her study claimed that traditional “bush doctors” as well as traditional knowledge is disappearing with advancement in technology and the increased availability of modern medicinal services. Her research included documentation of over 150 medicinal plants used to treat fevers and colds but not severe health issues. Like Janska,in Science Magazine, Paul Cox(2000) lamented that“an increasing numberofagedhealersare dying withtheirknowledgeleftunrecorded”. In agreement with Janska and Cox, Hamilton(2003) of The World Wildlife Fund reports that “human knowledge about medicinal plants is declining rapidly—a continuation of the loss of cultural diversity that has been underway for hundreds of years”.An important part of this study will be to examine any other factors that influence the use of Traditional Medicine and the extent to which knowledge of TM is preserved in a rural area.
Contrasting with the other researchers, Steven Salzberg (2011) in his article in the Atlantic ‘A “Triumph” of Hype over Reality’ states that Traditional medicine does not work. He says that “Alternative medicine is unscientific at best and dangerous at worst”. Salzberg says that modern medicine has lowered death rates as well as dropped heart disease by 60%, cancer by 16% and HIV and AIDS by 75%. He further explained that many of the practitioners are uneducated and unaware of the side effects associated with the use of TM and that prolonged use of certain herbs can be harmful. This study will survey whether or not TM is a safe way to treat illnesses.
Renee Davis (2010) in an internet article entitled “Are Herbs Still the Peoples’ Medicine?” surveyed herbal medicine use in America which revealed that the use of herbal medicine was popular among the college educated women between the ages 45-65 and that only 10% of young adults used TM. Davis’s research quoted that the common reason for use of TM was for treatment of illness as opposed to preventative care among the young adults. Only non-life threatening diseases were treated solely by TM while chronic conditions were treated by modern medicine.
In an article ‘The prevalence of herbal medicine home use and concomitant use with pharmaceutical medicines in Jamaica’ by the Journal of Ethnopharmacology(2011) it was found that self-medication with herbs in Jamaica is highly prevalent and is especially used to treat illnesses of the respiratory system(RS) ;77.8%, gastro-intestinal tract(GIT) ;53.3%, and health maintenance using tonics;29.6%. 26.7% of the respondents used Modern medication concomitantly with medicinal plants and treated RS, GIT and Hypertension problems. The study found that there was significant association with herb use with age, religion, gender, and employment status and education level. Thus, it was found that the prevalence of herb use alone was greatest among people ages 35-54, employed, Rastafarian, those without health insurance and males and other people who had completed secondary level education. Drug-herb use was prevalent among people 65 years and over, retired, of religions other than Rastafarian or Christian, females and those who attained primary level education and below. This study will also use a survey method and similar demographics and will look at the types of illnesses treated with TM as compared to Modern or Western medicine.