A Healthy Collaboration: Incorporating Ethnomedical Treatments into Biomedicine of the 21st Century
A
Healthy Collaboration:
Incorporating
Ethnomedical Treatments into Biomedicine of the 21st Century
Jim Rogers
. . .
Technological
advancements in health, communication, and transportation have been reshaping
the global community for nearly two centuries. In that time, thanks to the
autonomy afforded the technological industry in a free market, the telegraph
has converted to instant messenger apps, slow, coal-burning locomotives have
transitioned into bullet trains that rocket across the Chinese countryside and
global “life expectancy rose significantly” as “infectious diseases declined as
the primary causes of [human] death,” (Guest 414). One need only look at the
accomplishments of the twentieth century to validate the claims of success that
are often attributed to this “health transition.” However, upon further inspection, it becomes
clear that this transition toward improved health has not developed on an equal
footing across the globe. Most notably, local populations in rural, undeveloped
areas find themselves excluded from many of these modern advancements in
biomedicine and technology. That is not to say that these areas have not
participated in their own forms of healing though. Rather, these locals turn to
ethnomedicinal practitioners that provide “local systems for health and healing
rooted in culturally specific norms and values” in place of Western medical
practices which focus on biomedical treatments that are often unaffordable, or
unavailable to the local population (Guest 400). Many of the ethnomedical
treatments offered in these localities are storied practices, based upon
cultural information that goes back generations, such as with the Amchi
of Ladakh, India. Biomedical practitioners often criticize the efforts of these
local healers, but as seen with many indigenous groups, the ethnomedical
approach is not only valid, but it incorporates the qualitative perspective of
the patient; something long missing from Western medicinal practices (Guest
406). It is therefore critical that biomedicine incorporate elements of
ethnomedical practices into its operative range. In doing this, the global
community can greatly increase the types of treatments available to individuals
experiencing chronic and immediate health-related issues.
The range of
ethnomedical practices are broad and varied across the globe. This highlights
an interesting aspect of localized medicine; in that, it is often developed by
the individuals in each locality. These developed practices of
healing are often well-documented in their application and effectiveness,
perpetuating the same attitude of medical consistency that biomedicine claims
to have invented. The stark difference between the two medical approaches is
thus exposed as being a separation of values and techniques, rather than a
separation of human mental capacity. In studying practices, such as the Amchi
medicine utilized by the Ladakhi people of India, the researcher finds that the
prescribed herbal remedies of the Amchi are “effective for the vast
majority of the Ladakhi’s health problems,” (Guest 400). These traditional
healers do not perform invasive operations, like surgeries, which are
central to the biomedical approach but focus rather on the “bodily and
spiritual balance between the individual and the surrounding universe” to
address the ailments of patients (Guest 401). However, despite their successes
over the generations, Amchi healers are on the decline in India, mostly
due to pressure by the Indian government which seeks to institute Western biomedicine as its reigning approach toward healthcare.
In contrast to ethnomedicine,
the practices of Western medicine are biologically based and impersonal, opting
for surgeries and antibiotic treatments that do not account for the qualitative
element of the human experience. The focus of biomedicine on “identifying
discrete natural disease entities that can be diagnosed and treated by
biomedically trained health professionals” leaves much to be desired when
considering the holistic experience of the human organism (Guest 402). Symptoms
may be a result of a disease, and biomedicine may even be able to cure the
disease, but the individual who is being healed is often forgotten in the
effort to eradicate the issue. As in cases where chemotherapy is utilized to
remove cancer, the inability of Western medicine to view the human system as a conscious,
and perpetually incorporate system, leads to treatments that are often limited
in scope; contributing to mental issues, damaged immune systems, and even
death. Questions regarding a person’s illness narrative are less important to
the biomedical approach than the scientific diagnosis is . In
contrast, the Amchi’s have long demonstrated the effectiveness of
treating localized health issues with herbal remedies by “asking questions of
the patient, examining bodily wastes, and carefully taking the patient’s pulse,”
(Guest 400). Just as with the ethnomedical practices surrounding Qi in Chinese
medicine, Amchi medicine finds value in the life experience of the
patient. Rather than simply focus on healing a diseased part of the body, these
practices focus on curing physical illness along with its cumulative side
effects.
Ultimately, as the
global community continues to progress towards new technological heights, the
signs of continued progress in healthcare are dubious at best. The United
States, despite being the wealthiest country in the world, is ranked 42nd
among nations in overall life expectancy. In addition to this
troubling metric, one need only observe the American public to hear of the
mental woes suffered by its population. Rising rates of chronic diseases, such
as cancer and heart disease, have replaced the once devastating infectious
diseases that ravaged early human populations, and for this, Western society,
and biomedicine, can be lauded. But it should also be criticized for its
shallowness. Ethnomedical treatments have long provided the answer to chronic
illnesses while being incapable of dealing with virulent infections. The chronic respiratory issues of the Ladakhi
people were well managed by their Amchi healers, just as the chronic
back issues of countless Chinese and American peoples have been managed by
acupuncture. These non-invasive methods of herbal and physical
therapy provide sustainable pathways toward health, that if practiced daily,
can greatly improve the patient’s quality of life. The issue is not in viewpoint,
but rather the inability to mesh the two concepts into a complete system that
deals with chronic, holistic, aspects of human health, as well as the
vulnerabilities the human body displays towards infectious viruses and
bacteria. It is therefore critical to the increased effectiveness of medical
treatment, that biomedicine incorporate a broader range of ethnomedical
practices into its functionality. By so doing, the global community will
greatly increase the methods of treatment available to a variety of individuals
experiencing chronic and immediate health-related issues.
Bibliography
Guest, Kenneth J. Essentials of Cultural
Anthropology. 2nd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.
Comments
Post a Comment