Find two peer-reviewed articles from reliable sources:
Find one article that supports alternative medicines.
Find another article that addresses concerns surrounding alternative medicines. Summarize the key points in each article.
State whether you believe more strongly in prescription or alternative medicines. Explain your answer and support it with additional references.
Sample Answer
Article in Support of Alternative Medicine
According to Johnson et al. (2018), as the general population has continued to age in the US, the prevalence of chronic conditions has increased. Studies have indicated that at least 70% of US adults who reach 60 have at least one chronic condition, with more than half having two or more. Therefore, various communities are affected by chronic conditions with a significant need for different lifestyle changes that can maximize wellness and contribute to healthy aging. Complementary and alternative medicine is one of the most preferred wellness approaches to assist elderly people in managing various chronic conditions and have a better quality of life (Johnson et al., 2018).
Current data indicates that at least 29% of adults above 65 years utilize complementary and alternative medicine such as nutritional supplements, yoga, chiropractic, and meditation to manage chronic conditions and improve their quality of life. According to Johnson et al. (2018), a lot of scholarly evidence has supported the efficacy of alternative medicine for various health conditions. Alternative medicine is effective on patients because it promotes a balance between the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of a patient’s life (Johnson et al., 2018). Alternative medicine provides numerous opportunities for interventions among diverse groups and even offers a form of self-care for ethnic and racial minorities who may find it hard to access healthcare in conventional medical systems. According to Johnson et al. (2018), alternative medicine can also be practiced by individuals without visiting a provider, making the healthcare model more accessible to the economically or socially disadvantaged individuals in a community.
Article Highlighting Concerns of Alternative Medicine
According to Krause et al. (2018), although the popularity of alternative medicine continues to increase across populations, there are many concerns related to this form of therapy compared to conventional medicine. The main concerns related to alternative medicine are ethical concerns. In many cases, alternative medicine modalities normally exaggerate benefits to patients, which can lead to unrealistic expectations in patients and also encourage ignoring of the risks of certain treatment modalities. For instance, in some cases, patients might assume that alternative medicine treatments that are classified as all-natural do not have any potential harm. Alternative medicines can therefore expose patients to harm, especially when utilized without proper information and guidelines knowledgeable individuals (Krause et al., 2018). The utilization of alternative medicine raises the ethical issue of non-maleficence. The limited research that is available related to alternative medicine is also a significant ethical issue in the use of such medication of approaches. The lack of adequate research makes it impossible to effectively determine the safety and efficacy of alternative medicine approaches (Krause et al., 2018).
Personal View
I believe in a balance between prescription and alternative medicine as the most effective approach to enhancing the population’s best healthcare outcomes. This is because prescription medicine is evidence-based with its efficacy and safety being approved. Prescription medicine can therefore be more effective for acute illnesses (Foley et al., 2019). On the other hand, alternative medicine such as meditation, yoga, and nutritional supplements may not be effective for acute illnesses but can be utilized in the management of chronic conditions and improvement of the quality of life of patients and, more specifically, senior citizens (Corp et al., 2018).
References
- Corp, N., Jordan, J. L., & Croft, P. R. (2018). Justifications for using complementary and alternative medicine reported by persons with musculoskeletal conditions: A narrative literature synthesis. PLOS ONE, 13(7), e0200879. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200879
- Foley, H., Steel, A., Cramer, H., Wardle, J., & Adams, J. (2019). Disclosure of complementary medicine use to medical providers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-38279-8
- Johnson, P. J., Jou, J., Rockwood, T. H., & Upchurch, D. M. (2018). Perceived Benefits of Using Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Race/Ethnicity Among Midlife and Older Adults in the United States. Journal of Aging and Health, 31(8), 1376–1397. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264318780023
- Krause, B., Lavretsky, H., & Dunn, L. B. (2018). Ethical Challenges in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. FOCUS, 16(1), 63–66. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20170054
