By Clay Jones, Margaret Lillie & Zhao Ni
Doctors David Boyd and John Stanifer visited class on November 15th to discuss the role of traditional medicines in global health. From the discussion, we learned how the use and beliefs surrounding traditional medicines can be very different from the western biomedical model that we are familiar with, and that these “alternative” methods are often the first treatments that are sought before advanced or western medical care.
One important nuance that Dr.Boyd discussed was the ultimate goal of different types of practices. Whereas biomedicine focuses on treating disease, traditional medicine focuses on healing all aspects of illness – including social and psychological factors. This notion of complete healing, rather than just treating disease, represents an important gap which traditional medicine can fill alongside the biomedical model. For example, traditional Chinese medicine incorporates acupuncture, herbal medicines, special diets, and meditative exercises such as tai chi. Ayurveda in India similarly uses the meditative exercises of yoga, purifying diets, and natural products. Alternative medicine does not only fill gaps within the biomedical model; it also can improve upon biomedicine through the production of important pharmaceuticals that come from the natural environment such as artemisinin, the top antimalarial on the market. Important antibiotic research is also gaining ground in this area in a time of heightening tension surrounding a growth in antibiotic resistance.
Despite some social stigmas, concrete understanding of healing mechanisms, and the difference in belief systems, many alternative psychological treatments are becoming more common alongside disease treatment. Increasingly, hospitals are providing alternative care services, such as meditation and mindfulness groups, acupuncture, and massage. Additionally, research is picking up on ethnomedical assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Boyd mentioned how the VA hospital system is increasingly recommending veterans to Navajo healing ceremonies to help with mental distress. Additionally, researchers at New York University recently conducted the “Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study,” where study subjects with advanced cancers underwent carefully controlled and monitored psilocybin assisted psychotherapy sessions. Psilocybin, the psychoactive component of many hallucinogenic mushroom species, has been used in healing rituals for thousands of years with strong roots in Mesoamerican cultures. These are just a few examples of the “total healing” that traditional medicine can offer.
From a global perspective, the pattern of disease in developing nations is changing. Unlike in the past when communicable diseases were the dominant burden of disease, now fifty percent of the health burden in developing countries is due to noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, depression, and use of tobacco and other addictive substances. For these noncommunicable diseases, lifestyle, diet, obesity, lack of exercise, and stress are important contributing factors, therefore traditional medicines approaches to these factors in particular will be increasingly important for the development of future health care strategies for the developing world.
Despite the great many potential benefits of traditional medicine, we must also be aware of potentially harmful or counterproductive practices. One example Dr.Stanifer gave was about the impact of drinking a solution made from aloe vera to manage kidney disease symptoms, which actually has a negative effect on kidney function. In addition, historically and culturally, hand hygiene was not drawn enough attention by many traditional medicine practitioners.
We, as future global health researchers, should keep local healing systems in mind when investigating and conducting research in low and middle income countries due to these effects. We must understand that individuals are part of a much bigger healing network than the biomedical framework offers. If we do not approach these situations respectfully with an open-minded curiosity, we risk alienating the very people who we wish to help.
Global Health Challenges 2016 
Thank you very much for the summation of the presentation in the post. I found the presentation very informative to me as a US physician. The idea of appropriately framing the goals of a treatment is critical. I appreciate the discussion with regard to alternative medicines. However, I would argue that this is important for every therapy I provide. I would say that I almost have no treatments as a pediatric cardiologist that work like a wave of the wand and the patient is better with no consequence. All of my treatments have costs to the patients and families, and it is frequently the case that I trade one disease for the another. All of this encourages me to closely relate the goals and outcomes of the treatment to the families for discussion. I think connecting the goals of the patients/families with intended treatments whether complementary or allopathic leads to a foundation on which healing can occur.
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Thank you, Clay , Margaret & Zhao for your thoughtful blog. My interest in global mental health is inextricably linked with traditional medicine. Since people formulate their identities through a cultural lens, it’s impossible to address psycho social needs without understanding cultural beliefs and practices. We discussed how traditional medicine is a common first line of treatment in all societies, so it will only cause harm by ostracizing the existence of those practices. In the field of mental health, traditional practitioners can be an invaluable tool because they have an in depth understanding of the community. They are also trustworthy figures who people go to as a first line of treatment. If we equip traditional practitioners with basic skills, a form of task-sharing, I believe that they can be entry points for patients into the primary health care system.
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This is a very interesting topic and thank you for your blog post. I believe traditional medicine is very important and the presentation on traditional medicine was very informative. Traditional medicine has both potential impacts in developed countries and developing countries. In developed countries, like the blog post pointed out, Psilocybin has been shown to be one of the only effective medications for cluster migraines, a migraine that is one of the worst pains in the world. This traditional medicine alternative supplements when regular traditional medicine fails. It also plays a role in non-western medicine. In many countries, access to medication is a huge barrier for good health care. Access to medication occurs due to distance from medication centers as well as not having enough money to buy them. Therefore, using traditional medicine could be a point-of-care approach that supplants Western medicine when Western medicine fails throughout the world.
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Thank you for your thoughts and comments on the presentation.
I also find this topic to be quite interesting, and have done some research in this particular area. My original research was about jaundice in Iran, but I began to find an unexpected prevalence of herbal remedies while collecting data and was fascinated by the different types of herbs and traditional medicines used to treat infants and newborns. I began to wonder about just how helpful or harmful these remedies were, and how much potential there was for very interesting research in this field. I think western medicine is becoming so focused on medication, its cost, and treating symptoms rather than preventing the disease that it is just a matter of time before we switch our attention and efforts to preventative medicine. I predict that the popularity of this type of research will continue to increase over the next few decades and that we will see even more significant findings in the future.
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