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Changing the knowledge base in Western herbal medicine
Citation
Evans, S, Changing the knowledge base in Western herbal medicine, Social Science & Medicine, 67 pp. 2098-2106. ISSN 0277-9536 (2008) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2008 Elsevier
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.046
Abstract
The project of modernising Western herbal medicine in order to allow it to be accepted by
the public and to contribute to contemporary healthcare is now over two decades old. One
aspect of this project involves changes to the ways knowledge about medicinal plants is
presented. This paper contrasts the models of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and
Traditional Knowledge (TK) to illuminate some of the complexities which have arisen
consequent to these changes, particularly with regard to the concept of vitalism, the
retention or rejection of which may have broad implications for the clinical practice of
herbal medicine. Illustrations from two herbals (central texts on the medicinal use of
plants) demonstrate the differences between these frameworks in regard to how herbs are
understood. Further, a review of articles on herbal therapeutics published in the Australian
Journal of Herbal Medicine indicates that practitioners are moving away from TK and
towards the use of EBM in their clinical discussions.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | herbal medicine, traditional knowledge, evidence based medicine, vitalism, australia |
Research Division: | Health Sciences |
Research Group: | Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine |
Research Field: | Naturopathy |
Objective Division: | Health |
Objective Group: | Public health (excl. specific population health) |
Objective Field: | Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Evans, S (Dr Sue Evans) |
ID Code: | 112601 |
Year Published: | 2008 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 29 |
Deposited By: | Pharmacy |
Deposited On: | 2016-11-17 |
Last Modified: | 2016-12-21 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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