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Antibiomedicine belief and integrative health seeking in Taiwan

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  • Lew-Ting, Chih-Yin

Abstract

The newly emerged concept of integrative medicine may provoke a closer investigation into the pattern of biomedicine use in the context of medical pluralism. In this study, I propose two concepts to examine the complicated cognitive and behavioural responses to biomedicine (Western medicine, xi-yi) in relation to the use of non-biomedical therapies in Taiwan, a society with renowned medical pluralism. Data came from a nation-wide telephone survey conducted during September 2002 among community-resident population aged 20 and older. The sample includes 1517 respondents. The first concept--antibiomedicine--includes three indicators to measure an individual's negative stance on xi-yi: overall competence, capability to cure from within, and side effects. Combined, these three indicators were further constructed into a single composite index: antibiomedicine beliefs. Integrative health seeking tackled two aspects of health seeking: selective use and adaptive use. The former concerns particularly the use of specific ingredients of biomedicine. In this study, emphasis was placed on the diagnosis versus treatment of xi-yi. The latter was focussed on the strategic uses of xi-yi in the face of its limitation and incompetence. Three types of adaptive health use were identified: alternative type, complementary type, and exclusive type. Results of the analyses indicate that antibiomedicine belief held explanatory potential to selective use and adaptive use of xi-yi. The study sheds light on further exploring the blending of health-seeking practices and "hybrid" medicine. It is suggested that novel explanatory constructs and more sophisticated study designs should be developed to articulate the sequential of pluralistic health-seeking process.

Suggested Citation

  • Lew-Ting, Chih-Yin, 2005. "Antibiomedicine belief and integrative health seeking in Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(9), pages 2111-2116, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:60:y:2005:i:9:p:2111-2116
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lee, Rance P. L., 1982. "Comparative studies of health care systems," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 629-642, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Shih, Shu-Fang & Lew-Ting, Chih-Yin & Chang, Hsing-Yi & Kuo, Ken N., 2008. "Insurance covered and non-covered complementary and alternative medicine utilisation among adults in Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1183-1189, October.
    2. Little, Miles & Jordens, Christopher F.C. & McGrath, Catherine & Montgomery, Kathleen & Kerridge, Ian & Carter, Stacy M., 2007. "Pragmatic pluralism: Mutual tolerance of contested understandings between orthodox and alternative practitioners in autologous stem cell transplantation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(7), pages 1512-1523, April.

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