Based on an ethnographic study conducted in both biomedical and complementary and alternative medicine settings in north Italy, I explore how people and practitioners make sense of allergy and how patients utilize plural healing options. Despite a wide range of medical modalities, people categorize and use medicine according to whether they are 'natural' or 'not-natural,' thus dissolving any potential confusion between diverse therapies. I analyze how the concept of naturalness relates to allergy and medical pluralism. Nature is perceived as opposed to pollution, the first associated with a reassuring and idealized past and the latter to a modernity riddled with uncertainties. Participants associated a diverse set of meanings with nature, permitting them the syncretism of different medical modalities. Medical pluralism in the study area is an uneven platform for discussion and experimentation, the outcome of historical and cultural context and local entanglements of power.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2012.732632 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Pilot work of the 10K Chinese People Genomic Diversity Project along the Silk Road suggests a complex east-west admixture landscape and biological adaptations.
Sci China Life Sci
January 2025
Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610000, China.
Genomic sources from China are underrepresented in the population-specific reference database. We performed whole-genome sequencing or genome-wide genotyping on 1,207 individuals from four linguistically diverse groups (1,081 Sinitic, 56 Mongolic, 40 Turkic, and 30 Tibeto-Burman people) living in North China included in the 10K Chinese People Genomic Diversity Project (10K_CPGDP) to characterize the genetic architecture and adaptative history of ethnic groups in the Silk Road Region of China. We observed a population split between Northwest Chinese minorities (NWCMs) and Han Chinese since the Upper Paleolithic and later Neolithic genetic differentiation within NWCMs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonster of the Night: Identifying Pakistani Gender-Based, Religious, and Cultural Influences on Sleep Paralysis Among University Students.
Cult Med Psychiatry
January 2025
Faculty of General Studies and Advanced Education, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.
The present study has explored the folk knowledge about the phenomenon of sleep paralysis in Pakistani society. The research aimed to gain a nuanced glimpse focusing on three major factors, culture, religion, and gender, that influence the lived experiences of those who face sleep paralysis. In this qualitative research, to have a holistic perception of indigenous knowledge about it, we selected both male and female participants who have experienced sleep paralysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIs sharing always caring? Entropy, boundaries and the plurality of psychotherapeutic process.
Phys Life Rev
January 2025
CHU Sainte-Justine Azrieli Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address:
From experts' perspective, factors affecting the effectiveness of online educational programs in promoting the health literacy of MS patients: A grounded theory approach.
Patient Educ Couns
January 2025
Nano Tech Laboratory, School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address:
Background: Online educational programs have emerged as a promising tool for promoting health literacy (HL) among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. However, identifying influencing factors is crucial for maximizing their effectiveness.
Aim: This study aimed to explain the factors affecting the effectiveness of online educational programs in promoting HL among MS patients in Iran.
[Duties of the Physician in Relation to the Use of Alternative and Complementary Medicines by Their Patients].
Rev Med Chil
November 2024
Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
In the prevailing medical pluralism of contemporary society, alternative and complementary medicine occupy a relevant place, comprising a heterogeneous group of practices with different values depending on tradition and social acceptance. Their scarce regulation and growing use, facilitated by promotion through social networks and distrust of the dominant biomedical model, have generated interest among medical organizations and health authorities in their use and consequences. Appreciations vary from outright rejection to interest in its adoption by public health systems as part of their services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!