IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v155y2016icp73-81.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

CAM within a field force of countervailing powers: The case of Portugal

Author

Listed:
  • Almeida, Joana
  • Gabe, Jonathan

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which the position of the medical profession and the state towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners has changed since the late 1990s, taking Portugal as a case study. Using Light's concept of countervailing powers, we consider the alliances, interests, rhetoric and degrees of control between these three actors over time, focussing particularly on the extent to which CAM practitioners have acted as a countervailing force in their relationship with the medical profession and the state. It also brings to the fore the position of supra-state agencies concerning CAM regulation. A critical discourse analysis was conducted on data derived from a systematic search of information dating from the late 1990s up to 2015. Our analysis suggests that CAM has emerged as an active player and a countervailing power in that it has had significant influence on the process of state policy-making. The medical profession, in turn, has moved from rejecting to ‘incorporating’ CAM, while the state has acted as a ‘broker’, trying to accommodate the demands and preferences of both actors while simultaneously demonstrating its power and autonomy in shaping health policy. In sum, the history of countermoves of CAM, the medical profession and the state in recasting power relations regarding CAM regulation in Portugal has highlighted the explanatory value of Light's countervailing power theory and the need to move away from a professional dominance and corporatist approach, in which CAM has simply been seen as subjugated to the power of the medical profession and the state.

Suggested Citation

  • Almeida, Joana & Gabe, Jonathan, 2016. "CAM within a field force of countervailing powers: The case of Portugal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 73-81.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:155:y:2016:i:c:p:73-81
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.02.044
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953616300995
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.02.044?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dew, Kevin, 2000. "Deviant insiders: medical acupuncturists in New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(12), pages 1785-1795, June.
    2. Baer, Hans A. & Jen, Cindy & Tanassi, Lucia M. & Tsia, Christopher & Wahbeh, Helen, 0. "The drive for professionalization in acupuncture: A preliminary view from the San Francisco Bay area," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 533-537, February.
    3. Cant, Sarah & Sharma, Ursula, 1996. "Demarcation and transformation within homoeopathic knowledge. A strategy of professionalization," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 579-588, February.
    4. Kelner, Merrijoy & Wellman, Beverly & Welsh, Sandy & Boon, Heather, 2006. "How far can complementary and alternative medicine go? The case of chiropractic and homeopathy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2617-2627, November.
    5. Baer, Hans A., 2006. "The drive for legitimation in Australian naturopathy: Successes and dilemmas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(7), pages 1771-1783, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adams, Crystal & Curtin-Bowen, Mica, 2021. "Countervailing powers in the labor room: The doula–doctor relationship in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    2. Brosnan, Caragh, 2017. "Alternative futures: Fields, boundaries, and divergent professionalisation strategies within the Chiropractic profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 83-91.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Perrotta, Manuela & Geampana, Alina, 2020. "The trouble with IVF and randomised control trials: Professional legitimation narratives on time-lapse imaging and evidence-informed care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    2. Cant, Sarah & Watts, Peter & Ruston, Annmarie, 2011. "Negotiating competency, professionalism and risk: The integration of complementary and alternative medicine by nurses and midwives in NHS hospitals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(4), pages 529-536, February.
    3. Verhoef, Marja J. & Boon, Heather s & Mutasingwa, Donatus R., 2006. "The scope of naturopathic medicine in Canada: An emerging profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 409-417, July.
    4. Volker Scheid, 2002. "Remodeling the Arsenal of Chinese Medicine: Shared Pasts, Alternative Futures," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 583(1), pages 136-159, September.
    5. Ijaz, Nadine, 2022. "The reluctant and the envious: Therapeutic subalternity and the practice of homeopathy in North America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    6. Villanueva-Russell, Yvonne, 2011. "Caught in the crosshairs: Identity and cultural authority within chiropractic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(11), pages 1826-1837, June.
    7. Kelner, Merrijoy & Wellman, Beverly & Welsh, Sandy & Boon, Heather, 2006. "How far can complementary and alternative medicine go? The case of chiropractic and homeopathy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2617-2627, November.
    8. Schupmann, Will, 2023. "“We are not the ethics police”: The professionalization of clinical ethicists and the regulation of medical decision-making," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    9. Brosnan, Caragh, 2017. "Alternative futures: Fields, boundaries, and divergent professionalisation strategies within the Chiropractic profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 83-91.
    10. Green, Gill & Bradby, Hannah & Chan, Anita & Lee, Maggie, 2006. ""We are not completely Westernised": Dual medical systems and pathways to health care among Chinese migrant women in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 1498-1509, March.
    11. Patel, Gupteswar & Brosnan, Caragh & Taylor, Ann & Garimella, Surekha, 2021. "The dynamics of TCAM integration in the Indian public health system: Medical dominance, countervailing power and co-optation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    12. Owens, Kellie, 2015. "Boundary objects in complementary and alternative medicine: Acupuncture vs. Christian Science," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 18-24.
    13. Chung, Vincent C.H. & Hillier, Sheila & Lau, Chun Hong & Wong, Samuel Y.S. & Yeoh, Eng Kiong & Griffiths, Sian M., 2011. "Referral to and attitude towards traditional Chinese medicine amongst western medical doctors in postcolonial Hong Kong," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 247-255, January.
    14. Villanueva-Russell, Yvonne, 2005. "Evidence-based medicine and its implications for the profession of chiropractic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 545-561, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:155:y:2016:i:c:p:73-81. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.