• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.137-156
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• 2004

Altruistic virtuous caring, possibly originated from religion and/or spirituality, is indispensable for holistic health through channeling vital energy with diet, exercise and meditation. This is a participant-observed medical anthropological research of a first generation Korean elderly immigrant health professional woman living in a four generational family. She had hypertension and was concerned about possible attack of stroke. Multi-religious, spiritual, and cosmological vital energy based on holistic Nature-oriented health beliefs and practices influenced by psychosocial, cultural and economic background, education, self- discipline and self-cultivation of individual, and group or family may create health. Self-care beliefs based on confidence in self-control of one's life style for oneself and others influence individual and group health practice. The holistic alternative health beliefs and practices were proved to be efficacious and beneficial by her self-evaluation, evaluation of significant others, biomedical professionals, and laboratory tests. That may have potential application for global health.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.79-82
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• 2013

The demand for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing worldwide. High-technology medicine is not always effective and is often accompanied by neglected self-care and high cost. Also, conventional medicine has become dependent on expensive technological solutions to health problems. Integrated medicine is not simply a synonym for complementary medicine. It involves the understanding of the interaction of the mind, body, and spirit and how to interpret this relationship in the dynamics of health and disease. Integrative medicine shifts the orientation of the medical practice from a disease-based approach to a healing-based approach. In South Korea, CAM education was first provided 20 years ago, and integrative medicine is becoming part of the current mainstream medicine. Increasing numbers of fellowships in integrative medicine are being offered in many academic health centers in the U.S. Also, it has emerged as a potential solution to the American healthcare crisis and chronic diseases, which are bankrupting the economy. It provides care that is patient-centered, healing-oriented, emphasizes the therapeutic relationship, and uses therapeutic approaches originating from conventional and alternative medicine.

• CELLMED
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.7.1-7.4
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• 2012

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasing in Norway. A growing number of nurses choose to offer CAM, and the purpose of the study presented in this article was to examine the reasons for their choices. Fieldwork including interviews with 20 nurses offering CAM was conducted. The results showed that the nurses in general are not satisfied with the public health service. They had four main reasons for their choice to offer CAM: 1. A desire to perform holistic nursing. 2. A tendency to value self-realization. 3. A wish to experience meaning in their work and develop a stronger professional identity. 4. A freedom to mix care and cure. The results of this study are also discussed in view of medicalization.