Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine

'This wide-ranging international reader brings together a 'Who's Who' from contemporary Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) fields, with abridged versions of papers that have helped shape the field, as well as exciting new chapters to help blaze a trail in developing an empirical, rigorous and critical approach to this emerging area of health and health care. Practitioners, students, researchers and policymakers from around the globe can now quickly become au fait with a vast and diverse TCIM knowledge from just one source. This reader is timely directing the field at a critical moment in the TCIM debate, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to all students and colleagues interested in this critical aspect of twenty first century health care.' - Damien Ridge MBACP PhD, Professor of Health Studies, University of Westminster, London, UK. 'The increasing popularity of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine presents unique challenges and opportunities for a wide range of disciplines and approaches seeking to shed light on this topic. This International Reader, edited by a stellar team of investigators, provides an illuminating overview of the key debates and issues which will be of significant benefit to those seeking a foundational introduction into the landscape of TCIM scholarship as well as a capstone resource for those more established within the field of study. I have no doubt that this collection will play a crucial role in helping to further establish and guide the international health research community towards adopting and promoting a critical, multidisciplinary perspective upon this substantial area of health and health care. This text covers a substantial amount of ground in a fresh and dynamic way and will be an invaluable resource to health and health care students, scholars and practitioners alike.' - Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, Professor of Health Sciences and Research Chair in Health Human Resource Policy, University of Ottawa, Canada.

A ground-breaking collection of contemporary TCIM literature featuring respected research articles alongside fresh material. Bringing together the perspectives of a diverse range of international practitioners and academics, it provides essential guidance, insight and inspiration for those embarking upon study, practice or research in this field.This authoritative collection is the first wide-ranging overview dedicated to traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) and its scientific study. Compiled by an expert editorial team, it is an essential guide to the vast and ever-growing international literature on TCIM. Contributions come from practitioners and academics drawn from a diverse range of disciplines and professions across the globe. From perspectives on the significance of TCIM within public health policy to discourses on its influence in fields such as psychiatry and sociology, discrete chapters come together to provide an international map of the contemporary research, key debates and core issues which shape the field. Carefully structured to ensure easy navigation, the reader is divided into three parts: - Part A focuses on the consumption of TCIM, including chapters on its use through the life-cycle and within the context of disease and health management - Part B covers considerations for practitioners across the world, taking in issues over ethics, communication and education - Part C features chapters on the role of evidence, research and knowledge production in TCIM and looks at what lies ahead for the field With its thought-provoking insights and suggestions for further reading, this comprehensive resource provides guidance and inspiration for anyone embarking on study, practice or research within health, nursing or medicine.