Professional blog

Heather Discussion: 

Complementary and integrative health (CIH) have grown extremely favored in most parts of the world, even with the use of modern medicine. According to Holtz, CIH is “a broad set of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not part of that country’s own tradition and are nonmainstream approaches” (2022). Understanding what CIH means helps to address the health challenge of the scenario about qi therapy in Jane’s case. From researching qi therapy, most articles state that qi therapy can help reduce fatigue in cancer patients. Eldridge states qi therapy “may have an effect on reducing inflammation associated with cancer or cancer therapy or increasing apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells” (2022). In Jane’s case, the sessions of qi therapy are helping with some of the symptoms she is having which is a positive response to the cancer. In terms of curing cancer, it doesn’t seem there is enough evidence to relate that qi therapy cures cancer, but it certainly can improve a cancer patient’s symptoms that are associated with cancer. According to Chang and Knobf, Qi therapy has “been demonstrated to slow the development of disability, reduce fatigue, and improved both quality of life and sense of well-being” (2019). 

The influence of politics, economics, culture, and religion are important factors on the use of CIH practices across the world. These factors impact the effectiveness of CIH approaches like qi therapy when people start to see results of what this type of treatment can do. Though CIH is increasing in popularity, people in developed countries are continuing to use modern western medicine. Politics influences CIH methods when the government establishes a program to explore options of CIH. According to Holtz, “the support by the U.S. government has allowed NCCIH to explore CIH practices in the context of rigorous science, training of CIH researchers, and dissemination of authoritative information to the public and professionals” (2022). This allows for a better understanding of CIH to patients who may want to try a different type of medicine. The economy influences the use of CIH methods “because traditional and herbal medicines are less expensive and more widely accessible than western medicine” (Holtz, 2022). In countries that have a better economy, the use of CIH is encouraged though most people have to pay out of pocket to receive these services. Culture and religion are an influence on CIH approaches because many cultures base their practices off of what they are influenced by in their religion. As stated by Holtz, “traditional Chinese medical care and practice are strongly influenced by Chinese tradition and religion, including Confucius principles, Taoism, the theory of yin and yang, and Buddhism” (2022). When understanding the influence that these factors have on CIH practices can help to address the effectiveness of what CIH can really do for a patient. In my opinion, there are different factors of when, why, and how I would recommend CIH to a patient. I would recommend using CIH methods when a patient is having symptoms, such a Jane in the case, that aren’t being cured with modern western medicine. Why I would recommend CIH to a patient is because sometimes western medicine doesn’t always alleviate the pain or problem a patient may be having. For instance, in Jane’s case, she had improvements in her symptoms after she did a few sessions of qi therapy. The how is that CIH methods can be a positive type of medicine for people who are experiencing symptoms that may not be fixed by modern medicine. Some believe the only way to alleviate pain is through medications, but allowing CIH to come in and redirect the pain through other means such as qi therapy can help patients to experience less pain and fatigue.

References

Chang, P. S., & Knobf, T. (2019). Qigong Exercise and Tai Chi in Cancer Care.  Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing,  6(4), 315–317. https://doi.org/10.4103/apjon.apjon_34_19

Eldridge, L. (2022).  Can qigong help people with cancer?. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/qigong-for-cancer-2249315 

Holtz, C. (2022). Global Health Care: Issues and Policies (4thed.). Jones &Bartlett Learning.

Reply to Thread

Akesha Discussion:

Conventional medicine and complementary and integrative health (CIH) have risen significantly across the globe over the past several years. The importance of conventional, complementary, and alternative medicine in the healthcare system is increasing worldwide.” Many clinicians have anecdotally reported that patients combining self-care CIH therapies with practitioner-delivered therapies report larger health improvements than do patients using practitioner-delivered or self-care CIH therapies alone” (Zeliadt et al., 2020). Qi Gong is a form of energy therapy that claims to improve health by gently moving the body and maintaining proper postures while concentrating on breathing. Qi therapy is beneficial in the treatment of cancer patients who need support. “Regular practice of qi gong exercise therapy has the potential to improve cancer-related quality of life and is indirectly linked to cancer prevention and survival” (Klein, 2017). The practice of qi therapy has been linked to improved cancer mortality rates and prevention. Stress is widely recognized to be bad for health. Stress management techniques commonly include relaxation exercises. Regulating breath is key to qi therapy because it generates a calming effect. Additionally, qi therapy incorporates meditation, which is believed to promote mindfulness.

Politics, economics, culture, and religion are critical in CIH practice and research. Due to a lack of information, it appears that the general public, healthcare professionals, and administrators are all unaware of the effectiveness of qi therapy in the treatment of cancer. In order to meet expected demand, there is also a major shortage of existing programming and workforce capacity. Government funding will be necessary for further QI therapy research and education, strongly influenced by politics and government. The government can also develop laws and regulations based on further research. Anyone struggling to meet their basic needs would find it impossible even to try qi therapy due to their inability to pay out of pocket. Lastly, people’s religious and cultural beliefs will influence their practice and use of qi therapy, which might have a beneficial or negative impact on the evolution of qi therapy, depending on their perspective.

References

Holtz, C. (2022). Global Health Care: Issues and Policies (4thed.). Jones &Bartlett Learning.

Klein P. (2017). Qigong in Cancer Care: Theory, Evidence-Base, and Practice. Medicines (Basel, Switzerland),4(1), 2.

Zeliadt, S.B., Coggeshall, S., Gelman, H., Shin, M.H., Elwy, A.R., Bokhour, B.G., & Taylor, S.L. (2020).Assessing the Relative Effectiveness of Combining Self-Care with practitioner-Delivered Complementary and Integrative Health Therapies to Improve Painin a Pragmatic Trial, Pain Medicine,21(2)

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