Some believe that medicine has lost its holistic perspective as a result of which many people now seek help from 'alternative' practitioners who seem able to devote time to their patients and listen to their concerns. Such practitioners also treat the 'whole person' rather than only their symptoms, a feature which seems to be valued by patients. The use of complementary therapies is, therefore, increasing world-wide.
This paper explores this increase, questioning whether this truly reflects dissatisfaction with 'traditional' (allopathic) medicine or rather represents an increased satisfaction with 'alternative' therapies. It also investigates the use of such therapies in mainstream medicine revealing considerable variation in attitudes towards and use
of such therapies in current medical practice questioning whether this should be seen as a threat to modem medicine or their use may enhance patient well-being and quality of life.
Aldridge D. (1989). Europe looks at Complementary Medicine, British Medical Journal229,1121-1122
2.
Astin J.A. (1998). Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study, Journal of the American MedicalAssociation279(19), 1548-53
3.
Bakx K. ( 1991). The 'eclipse' of folk medicine in western society, Sociology of Health and Illness13 (1) 21-37
4.
Barker S. (1997). Formation and development of Aromatherapy Organisations Council, Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery3 (3), 77-80
5.
Blumenthal D. (1994). The variation phenomenon in 1994, New England Journal of Medicine531, 1017-18
6.
British Holistic Medical Association (Bhma) ( 1991). A response to the Government's green paper, `The Health of the Nation', BHMA, London
7.
British Medical Association (Bma) (1986). Report of the Board of Science and Education on Alternative Therapy , BMA, London
8.
British Medical Association (Bma) (1993). The flight from science, British Medical journal280, 1-2
9.
Calman K. (1994). Introduction. In: Delamothe, T. (Editor) Outcomes into Clinical Practice, BMJ Publishing, London, pp. 1- 12
10.
Calnan M.Clinical uncertainty: is it a problem in doctor-patient relationship ? Sociology of Health and Illness6 (1), 74-85
11.
Cannard G. (1996). The effect of aromatherapy in promoting relaxation and stress reduction in a general hospital, Complementary therapies in Nursing and Midwifery2, 38-40
12.
Cant S. and Sharma U. (1996). Complementary and Alternative Medicines: Knowledge in Practice, Free Association Books Ltd, Bristol
13.
Cawthorn A. (1995). A Review of the literature surrounding the research into aromatherapy, Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery1,118-120
14.
Charlton B.G. (1993) The doctor's aim in a pluralistic society: a response to 'healing and medicine', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine86, 125-26
15.
Consumer'S Association (1986) Magic or Medicine? Which? October, 443-47
16.
Consumer's Association (1992). Regulation of Practitioners of Non-Conventional Medicine, Consumer's Association, London
17.
Delamothe T. (1994). Preface. In: Delamothe, T. (Editor) Outcomes into Clinical Practice, BMJ Publishing, London, pp.ix
18.
Doss C. ( 1996). Blending complementary and conventional medicines: implications for nursing, Alaska-Nurse46 (3), 6-7
19.
Doyle C. (1993). Reaching out for an alternative, Daily Telegraph, 5 April
20.
Dyer K. ( 1996). Recognizing the potential of alternative medical treatments , Journal of the American Medical Association275(8), 578
21.
Dyke G. ( 1998). The New NHS Charter - A Different Approach, NHS Executive, London EISENBERG D M, KESSLER R C, FOSTER C,
22.
Calkins D.R. and Delbanco T.L. (1993). Unconventional medicine in the United States: prevalence, costs, and patterns of use, New England Journal ofMedicine328, 246-52
23.
Eisenberg D.M. (1997). Advising patients who seek Medical Therapies, Annals of Internal Medicine127 (1) 69
24.
Emslie M., Campbell M. and Walker J. (1996). Complementary therapies in a local healthcare setting. Part 1: Is there real public demand? Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 4 ( 1 ) 39-42
25.
Ernst E. (1997a) Chelation therapy for peripheral arterial occlusive disease: a systematic review, Circulation96(3), 1031-33
26.
Ernst D. (1997b) Integrating complementary medicine? Journal of Royal Society of Health117(5), 285-286
27.
Fisher P. and Ward A. (1994). Complementary medicine in Europe, British Medicaljournal309, 107-11
28.
Freshwater D. (1996). Complementary therapies and research in nursing practice, Nursing Standard10 (38), 43-45
29.
Fulder S. (1985). Complementary medicine in the United Kingdom: patients, practitioners and consultations, Lancet2(8454), 542-545
30.
Fulder S. (1988). Handbook of complementary medicine (2nd edition), Oxford University Press, Oxford
31.
Fulder S. (1996). The Handbook of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Oxford University Press, Oxford
32.
Grenfell A., Patel N. and Robinson N. (1998) Complementary therapy: general practitioners' referral and patients; use in an urban multi-ethnic area, Complementary Therapies in Medicine6(3), 127-32
33.
Himmel W., Schulte M. and Kochien M.M. (1993). Are patients expectations being met by their General Practitioners, Journal of General Practice43 (371), 232-235
34.
Hunter D.J. and Polit C. (1992). Development of health services research: perspectives from Britain and the United States, Journal of Public Health Medicine14, 163-8
35.
Illman J. (1996). Back to our roots, The Guardian , 9 January
36.
Jackson A. (1995). The effects of massage on healing, Nursing Times91 (36), 44
37.
Jackson A. (1996). Homeopathic treatment for psoriasis, Nursing Times92 (5), 44
38.
Kranz R. and Rosenmund A. (1998). The motivation to use complementary healing methods , Schweiz Med Wochenschr128, 616-22
39.
Liao S. and Liao T.A. (1992). Acupuncture treatment for psoriasis: a retrospective case report. Acupuncture and Electrotherapy Research, 17 (3) 195-208
40.
Long A. and Harrison S. (1996). The Balance of Evidence. Evidence-based Decision MakingLondon, Macmillan Magazines
41.
Maynard A. (1994). Knowledge based - not blindly based, Nursing Management1(4), 9
42.
McPherson K. (1994). Routine evaluation of minimally invasive surgery . In: Delamothe, T. (Editor) Outcomes into Clinical Practice, BMJ Publishing, London, pp.80-84
43.
Money M. (1997). Shamanism and complementary therapy, Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery3(5), 131-5
44.
Moore J., Phipps K., and Marcer D. (1985). Why do people seek treatment by alternative medicine ? British Medical Journal290, 28-29
45.
Mori (1989). Survey on Complementary Therapies, MORI, London
46.
Mulley A. (1994). Outcomes research: implications for policy and practice. In: Delamothe, T. (Editor) Outcomes into Clinical Practice, BMJ Publishing , London, pp 13-27
47.
Oleson T. and Flocco W. (1993). Randomized controlled study of premenstrual symptoms treated with ear, hand, and foot reflexology, Obstetrics and Gynecology82(6), 906-11
48.
Rankin-Box D.F. (1991). Complementary therapies in nursing, Nursing (London): the Journal of Clinical Practice, Education and Management4(46), 12-4
49.
Rees R.W. (1996). Evaluating complementary therapy on the National Health Service: A critique of reports from three pilot studies, Family Medicine4, 254-257
50.
Reilly D.T. (1983). Young doctors' views on alternative medicine, British Medical Journal287(6388), 337-9Saks M. ( 1992). Alternative medicine in Britain, Clarendon Press, Oxford
51.
Sharma U. (1990). Using Alternative Therapies. Marginal Medicine and Central Concerns, Falmer Press
52.
Trevelyan J. (1996). A true complement? Nursing Times92 (5), 42-43
53.
Trevelyan J. and Booth B. (1994). Complementary medicine for nurses, midwives and health visitors, Macmillan Press, London
54.
Vickers A. (1994). Use of complementary medicine, British Medical Journal390, 1151
55.
Vincent C. and Furnham A. (1996). Why do patients turn to complementary medicine? An empirical study. British journal of Clinical Psychology35(1), 37-48
56.
Watkins A. (1996). Contemporary context of complementary and alternative medicine. In: Micozzi, M. (Editor), Churchill Livingstone, New York
57.
West R.Alternative medicine: prospects and speculations. In: Saks, M. (Editor), Alternative Medicine in Britain, Clarendon Press, Oxford
58.
Wilkinson S. (1996). Get the massage, Nursing Times92 (34), 61-64
59.
Williams M. (1994). Using outcome information to improve acute care: total hip replacement. In: Delamothe, T. (Editor) Outcomes into Clinical Practice, BMJ Publishing , London, pp.56-69
60.
Wilson B.J., Goodwin N., Grimshaw J.M., Blumer H., Durno D., Wilson H. and William AM (1996). Complementary therapies in a local healthcare setting. Part 2: An experiment in bringing Complementary therapies into local NHS commissioning. The Grampian Consensus Development Conference, Complementary Therapies in Medicine,(4), 118-123
