Nontraditional Health Care Practices and the Significance and Foundation

Nontraditional Healthcare Practices
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s name
Date
Nontraditional Healthcare Practices
Nontraditional healthcare practices are frequently used to find a cure in an era where there is no cure, or the present recommendation to cure the disease is ineffective for most people. These are also employed in patients whose body responses are atypical of the usual presentation of the disease. However, some patients prefer nontraditional healthcare practices due to their personal beliefs and perspectives that may be influenced by their religion or the environment where they belong (Gyasi et al., 2017). This paper shall explore the current nontraditional healthcare practices, including the significance and the foundation of the increased preference for nontraditional versus traditional healthcare practices.
Examples
Nontraditional healthcare practices can be considered complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Complementary medicine involves practices that can be used together with the current and recommended health practices, while alternative medicine involves the practices done to replace the recommended health practices. Both can be used to treat the disease’s underlying pathophysiology or relieve the concomitant symptoms that are different from the disease, including stress, sleep disturbances, and anxiety. CAM can be classified into three: First, the natural product uses natural substances that are often employed for home remedies, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, and probiotics. Second, the mind and body practices involve those that satisfy the physical, mental and emotional health. These include yoga, meditation, chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation, relaxation techniques, hypnotherapy, tai chi, movement therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, etc. Lastly, the other health approaches are already part of the traditional healthcare practices, including Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (Khalifa, 2018).
Significance in Providing Holistic Quality Healthcare
Nontraditional healthcare practices have various effects on the individual’s health since these can provide relief of the primary and concomitant symptoms from the effects of the disease on the patient’s general health. Hence, it helps the healthcare provider deliver a high-quality and holistic approach to the patient. An example of these includes using home remedies, particularly natural products, in the physical health of critically ill patients such as cancer patients. Ginger root, either powdered or cut fresh, can relieve nausea and vomiting in cancer patients, often side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The modified citrus pectin (MCP), which can be extracted from the pulp and peel of citrus-rich fruits, has been shown to help slow down the growth of cancer cells, inhibiting early metastases in several types of malignancies, including prostate, lung, and colon cancers. Diarrhea is also one of the common adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and oral glutamine has shown to be effective in the recovery of gastrointestinal mucosa after therapy, thereby reducing the incidence of diarrhea that may lead to dehydration for the cancer patients (Khalifa, 2018).
Aside from the general effects on physical health, patients are often concerned about nontraditional healthcare practices if these have been reported to be beneficial to their overall well-being. Thus, the perspective of the patient and the principles of the healthcare provider must be aligned to ensure that the concept of healing is well-understood and that the use of CAM or nontraditional healthcare practices is not misinterpreted. According to a survey, only 5% of nurses can explain the significance of CAM in the treatment of the patients, and this calls for the need to revise the nursing curricula to help the patients explore treatment options without misinterpretation and whether the other treatment options are based on the patient’s belief, religion, and cultural practices (Hajbaghery & Mokhtari, 2018). Exploring nontraditional healthcare practices also opens options to the people who cannot afford the other treatment options, providing hope to the financially-challenged patients. Furthermore, its use aligns with the utilization of the health promotion model that targets the holistic treatment of the patients. This means that aside from the recommended treatment, the patient’s mental and emotional health should be considered to help empower the patient. Consequently, this shall provide options that may help fill the therapeutic gaps, especially in treating the concomitant psychological trauma in managing chronic diseases (Kemppainen et al., 2018; Greenlee et al., 2017).
Nontraditional Healthcare Practices in the United States
Several nontraditional healthcare practices are available in the United States. However, not all of these are approved. Based on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2022), the Veterans ...