Public Health

Naturopathic medicine and aboriginal health: an exploratory study at Anishnawbe Health Toronto

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:41:57 +0000

Naturopathic medicine and aboriginal health: an exploratory study at Anishnawbe Health Toronto Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/24/2021 - 11:41

Objective: To explore the experiences and perceptions of providing and receiving naturopathic care within the Aboriginal community served by community health centre Anishnawbe Health Toronto. Methods: This is an exploratory study using a descriptive qualitative approach to enable better understanding of the care provided to Aboriginal patients by naturopathic interns and clinician supervisors at Anishnawbe Health Toronto (AHT). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 3 naturopathic supervisors, 7 naturopathic interns, and 7 Aboriginal patients to gain an in-depth understanding of participants’ experiences and perceptions of naturopathic medicine at AHT. We also conducted 3 confirmatory interviews with Naturopathic Doctors practicing in other Aboriginal communities. Results: Naturopathic medicine is perceived to fit with health care philosophies in Aboriginal communities, as it emphasizes spiritual, mental and emotional aspects of health. Specifically, strengths of naturopathic medicine within the Aboriginal community relate to the philosophical suitability of naturopathic medicine, the ability to meet a wide range of health needs, the lack of power imbalance in the patient–practitioner relationship, and the cultural sensitivity of the practitioners. While AHT is highly regarded by patients and practitioners, certain limitations at the local setting regarding privacy and inter-professional communication were evident. Further, to facilitate trust, naturopathic interns require enhanced training in specific health issues that face the Aboriginal population to allow them to better engage with the culture and practices of the Aboriginal community. Conclusion: The naturopathic clinic at AHT contributes to positive patient outcomes and satisfaction and helps address unmet health needs in this population. Naturopathic medicine may be well suited to address Aboriginal health care needs through its holistic and respectful approach to care and a foundation of traditional knowledge and research evidence for treatment of a person’s mind, body and spirit. PMID:

Author

Rishma Walji BSc, ND, PhD, Laura Weeks PhD, Kieran Cooley ND, Dugald Seely ND, MSc

Citedate

2010-01-01

Citation

Can J Public Health 2010;101(5):475-80.

Affiliations

91��

Publication

http://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/article/view/2670

Taxonomy

Public Health

Exploring Professional Culture in the Context of Family Health Team Interprofessional Collaboration.

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:41:55 +0000

Exploring Professional Culture in the Context of Family Health Team Interprofessional Collaboration. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/24/2021 - 11:41

BACKGROUND: While family health teams (FHTs) seek to deliver collaborative patient-centered care, the barriers that can arise due to a practitioner’s professional culture pose a challenge to attaining interprofessional collaboration. The effect of professional culture in relation to FHT collaboration has not yet been examined, and a heightened awareness and appreciation of how this concept influences team dynamics holds promise to improve interprofessional collaboration on these and other evolving health care teams. METHODS: Qualitative secondary data analysis was conducted on data collected from in-depth semi-structured focus groups (n=5). A non-random convenience sample consisted of 42 participants from medicine, nursing, and allied health professions at the Family Health Centre and Diabetes Education Centre in a large academic teaching hospital in urban Canada. Discussions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed for themes using a modified directed content analysis approach. FINDINGS: Three main themes emerged: professional culture; FHT culture; and resources. Professional culture cannot be neatly separated from one’s personal, social or professional history, which ties in with opinions of accountability, power and hierarchy. Structure and processes of the FHT that encourage collaborative processes; clearly articulated scopes of practice, skills, authority; clarifications of roles and responsibilities; and opportunities to develop team relationships are necessary to diffuse the tension that exists between professional and FHT cultures. CONCLUSIONS: FHTs are multidisciplinary groups co-located but with a lack of meaningful structures and processes to support collaboration. There is heavy physician dominance and physicians seem to adhere to old hierarchical structures and beliefs, consistent with their professional culture. In general, the health care providers need to build collaborative competencies (e.g. role clarity, effective communication) in order to move a group of interdisciplinary health care providers toward being a highly performing interprofessional team.

Author

Beales, J, Walji, R, Papoushek, C, Austin, Z.

Citedate

2011-01-01

Citation

Health and Interprofessional Practice 1(1):eP1004.

Affiliations

91��, McMaster University, University of Toronto

Publication

http://tools.hhr-rhs.ca/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=att_download&li…

Taxonomy

Public Health

Addressing provider shortage in underserviced areas: The role of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) providers in Canadian rural healthcare

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:41:55 +0000

Addressing provider shortage in underserviced areas: The role of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) providers in Canadian rural healthcare Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/24/2021 - 11:41

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the role of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) providers in rural/remote communities of Ontario that provide care to underserviced areas and may collaborate with biomedical (BM) providers to provide “integrative” medicine (IM). RESEARCH QUESTIONS: (1) To what extent are TCAM providers delivering care in rural/remote communities? (2) How might TCAM providers be interacting with BM providers? (3) In what specific ways may TCAM providers be contributing to human resources for health (HRH)? METHODOLOGY: Using purposive sampling, we conducted 29 in-depth interviews from four TCAM provider groups within multiple rural localities in Ontario: naturopathic doctors, doctors of chiropractic, registered midwives and traditional Aboriginal healers. A minimum of five interviews per provider-group was conducted. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: TCAM providers are essential for rural healthcare in Canada, as they are accessible and without common wait time issues as with BM providers. TCAM providers fill healthcare gaps by providing holistic care based on cultural/philosophical and spiritual congruency, “health promotion/education” and lifestyle counseling. TCAM providers deliver primary healthcare, bridged care and interim care. Though they strive toward interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and IM, few TCAM providers accomplish this due to perceived and/or real barriers with interprofessional education (IPE). CONCLUSION: TCAM providers currently provide rural care to warrant an HRH role in Canada. There is a need for more research into IPE, IPC and IM between rural TCAM professions and the BM community in order for their role to become embedded in future rural health policy.

Author

Hollenberg D, Lytle M, Walji R, Cooley K

Citedate

2013-01-01

Citation

European Journal of Integrative Medicine Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2013, Pages 15–26

Affiliations

The Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario; The 91��

Publication

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2012.08.008

Taxonomy

Public Health

Health Services at a Canadian Naturopathic Teaching Clinic

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:41:52 +0000

Health Services at a Canadian Naturopathic Teaching Clinic Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/24/2021 - 11:41

Background: Historically, alongside regulatory and jurisdictional differences in scope of practices, practice patterns of naturopathic doctors (NDs) have varied widely to promote holistic or whole-person treatment using a variety of therapies including: controlled substances, minor surgery, a variety of complementary therapies, as well as both novel and conventional assessments. However, little is known about the observed practice patterns of NDs, the services provided to their patients, or the type of conditions for which patients of NDs are seeking treatment. In order to address this gap, a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of the largest Canadian teaching clinic for NDs was undertaken to better understand the services provided to the community and increase the knowledge regarding the use of naturopathic medicine. Methods: Data stemmed from two sources at the Toronto, Ontario clinic: a passive patient satisfaction survey, and the clinic’s point-of-sale (POS) system. Data included patient demographics, postal codes, health services utilization, ICD-10 codes, therapies employed, along with other data relating to the financial transactions associated with the visit. Simple descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare different age-based groups and examine health services use between years. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Board of the 91��. Results: 13,412 patients were treated in 76,386 patient visits spanning three clinic years. Median age of patients was 37; females outnumbered males (2.6:1) in all age-based groups except the pediatric population. In the patient satisfaction survey, there were 1552 potential survey respondents; with 118 responses received (response rate: 7.6%). Obtaining health education, health prevention and help with chronic health conditions were the primary motivators for patient visits identified in the patient survey. Conclusion: The clinic attracts people from a wide area in the metropolitan Toronto and surrounding region with health concerns and diagnoses that are consistent with primary care, providing health education and addressing acute and chronic health conditions. Further explorations into health services delivery from the broader naturopathic or other complementary/alternative medical professions would provide greater context to these findings and expand understanding of the patients and type of care being provided by these health professionals.

Author

Kennedy D, Bernhard B, Snyder T, Bancu V, Cooley K.

Citedate

2015-02-28

Citation

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2015, 15:37

Affiliations

The 91��

Publication

http://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906…

Taxonomy

Public Health

Does Integrative Medicine Reduce Prescribed Opioid Use for Chronic Pain? A Systematic Literature Review

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:41:49 +0000

Does Integrative Medicine Reduce Prescribed Opioid Use for Chronic Pain? A Systematic Literature Review Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/24/2021 - 11:41

Background:

Chronic pain (CP) is a major public health problem. Many patients with CP are increasingly prescribed opioids, which has led to an opioid crisis. Integrative medicine (IM), which combines pharmacological and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), has been proposed as an opioid alternative for CP treatment. Nevertheless, the role of CAM therapies in reducing opioid use remains unclear.

Objectives:

To explore the effectiveness of the IM approach or any of the CAM therapies to reduce or cease opioid use in CP patients.

Methods:

An online search of MEDLINE and Embase, CINAHL, PubMed supp., and Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) for studies published in English from inception until February 15, 2018, was conducted. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to critically appraise selected studies.

Results:

The electronic search yielded 5,200 citations. Twenty-three studies were selected. Eight studies were randomized controlled trials, seven were retrospective studies, four studies were prospective observational, three were cross-sectional, and one was quasi-experimental. The majority of the studies showed that opioid use was reduced significantly after using IM. Cannabinoids were among the most commonly investigated approaches in reducing opioid use, followed by multidisciplinary approaches, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and acupuncture. The majority of the studies had limitations related to sample size, duration, and study design.

Conclusions:

There is a small but defined body of literature demonstrating positive preliminary evidence that the IM approach including CAM therapies can help in reducing opioid use. As the opioid crisis continues to grow, it is vital that clinicians and patients be adequately informed regarding the evidence and opportunities for IM/CAM therapies for CP.

https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnz291

Author

Samah Hassan, Qingping Zheng, Erica Rizzolo, Evrim Tezcanli, Sukriti Bhardwaj, Kieran Cooley

Citedate

2019-11-22

Citation

pnz291

Publication

Pain Medicine

Taxonomy

Public Health