Alternative Medicine : A Critical Assessment of 150 Modalities
https://libcat.nshealth.ca/en/permalink/provcat44470
Edzard Ernst.
--Cham:
Springer/Copernicus Books
, c2019.
- Available Online
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- Location
- Online
Alternative medicine (AM) is hugely popular; about 40% of the US general population have used at least one type of alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The money spent on AM is considerable: the global market is expected to reach nearly US {dollar} 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers’ pockets. The reasons for this popularity are complex, but misinformation is certainly a prominent factor. The media seem to h…
- Available Online
- View e-Book
- Author
- Ernst, Edzard
- Responsibility
- Edzard Ernst
- Place of Publication
- Cham
- Publisher
- Springer/Copernicus Books
- Date of Publication
- c2019
- Physical Description
- 1 online resource (xiv, 312 p.)
- ISBN
- 9783030126018
- 9783030126001 (Print ed.)
- 9783030126025 (Print ed.)
- Subjects (MeSH)
- Complementary Therapies
- Treatment Outcome
- Specialty
- Complementary Therapies
- Abstract
- Alternative medicine (AM) is hugely popular; about 40% of the US general population have used at least one type of alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The money spent on AM is considerable: the global market is expected to reach nearly US {dollar} 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers’ pockets. The reasons for this popularity are complex, but misinformation is certainly a prominent factor. The media seem to have an insatiable appetite for the subject and often report uncritically on it. Misinformation about AM on the Internet (currently about 50 million websites are focused on AM) is much more the rule than the exception. Consumers are thus being bombarded with misinformation on AM, and they are ill-protected from such misinformation and therefore prone to making wrong, unwise or dangerous therapeutic decisions, endangering their health and wasting their money. This book is a reference text aimed at guiding consumers through the maze of AM. The concept of the book is straightforward. It has two main parts. The first, short section provides essential background on AM, explaining in simple terms what is (and what is not) good, reliable evidence, and addressing other relevant issues like, for instance, the placebo response, informed consent, integrative medicine, etc. The second and main part consists of 150 short chapters, topically grouped and each dedicated to one single alternative therapeutic or diagnostic method. In each of them, seven critical points are raised. These points relate to issues that are important for consumers’ decisions whether it is worth trying the method in question. Restricting the discussion to just seven points means that issues must be prioritized to those themes which are most relevant in the context of each given modality.
- Contents
- Introduction -- Why Evidence? -- The Attractiveness of Alternative Medicine -- The Unattractiveness of Alternative Medicine -- Ethical Problems in Alternative Medicine -- Other Issues -- Diagnostic Techniques -- Medicines and Oral Treatments -- Physical Therapies -- Other Therapies -- Umbrella Terms.
- Format
- e-Book
- Location
- Online
Chiropractic : Not All That It's Cracked Up to Be
https://libcat.nshealth.ca/en/permalink/provcat45402
Edzard Ernst.
--Cham:
Springer
, c2020.
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- Location
- Online
Of all forms of alternative medicine, chiropractic is the one that is most generally accepted. In the UK, for instance, chiropractors are regulated by statute and even have their own ‘Royal College of Chiropractic’. In the US, chiropractic’s country of origin, most chiropractors carry the title ‘doctor’ and many consumers believe they are medically trained. Despite this high level of acceptance, chiropractic is wide open to criticism. The claims and assumptions made by chiropractors are far fro…
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- Author
- Ernst, Edzard
- Responsibility
- Edzard Ernst
- Place of Publication
- Cham
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date of Publication
- c2020
- Physical Description
- 1 online resource (vii, 199 p.) : 11 illus., 7 illus. in color
- ISBN
- 9783030531188
- 9783030531171 (Print ed.)
- 9783030531195 (Print ed.)
- Subjects (MeSH)
- Chiropractic
- Treatment Outcome
- Abstract
- Of all forms of alternative medicine, chiropractic is the one that is most generally accepted. In the UK, for instance, chiropractors are regulated by statute and even have their own ‘Royal College of Chiropractic’. In the US, chiropractic’s country of origin, most chiropractors carry the title ‘doctor’ and many consumers believe they are medically trained. Despite this high level of acceptance, chiropractic is wide open to criticism. The claims and assumptions made by chiropractors are far from evidence based. Chiropractic manipulations are of doubtful effectiveness and have regularly been associated with severe adverse effects, including multiple fatalities. The advice issued by chiropractors to patients and consumers is often less than responsible. The behaviour of chiropractors and their organisations is frequently less than professional. This book presents and discusses recent evidence in and around chiropractic in a factual and unemotional manner. It amounts to an evidence-based critique of this profession and discloses the often dangerously misleading information published for the lay audience. It thereby contributes to advancing public health and critical thinking.
- Contents
- 1. Introduction -- 2. The History of Chiropractic -- 3. Current Popularity of Chiropractic -- 4. Subluxation -- 5. Spinal Manipulation -- 6. Other Alternative Modalities Used by Chiropractors -- 7. Therapeutic Claims by (and Ambitions of ) Chiropractors -- 8. Other Manual Therapies -- 9. What Is Evidence? -- 10. Effectiveness of Spinal Manipulation for Spinal Problems -- 11. Effectiveness of Spinal Manipulation in Other Problems -- 12. Chiropractic for Children -- 13. Disease Prevention -- 14. Direct Risks of Spinal Manipulation -- 15. Indirect Risks -- 16. Professionalism and Education -- 17. Ethical Issues -- 18. Postscript.
- Format
- e-Book
- Location
- Online
Homeopathy, The Undiluted Facts : Including a Comprehensive A-Z Lexicon
https://libcat.nshealth.ca/en/permalink/provcat40323
Edzard Ernst.
--Cham:
Springer
, c2016.
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- Location
- Online
This book traces the genesis, principles and practice of homeopathy, and discusses the reasons for its enduring popularity. Two hundred years ago, medicine had little to offer except blood letting and the administration of violent purgatives--practices which shortened the course of illness by hastening the death of the patient. Largely in reaction to what he correctly saw as the brutality and ineffectiveness of the medicine of his day, the eighteenth century German physician Samuel Hahnemann de…
- Available Online
- View e-Book
- Author
- Ernst, Edzard
- Responsibility
- Edzard Ernst
- Place of Publication
- Cham
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date of Publication
- c2016
- Physical Description
- 1 online resource (x, 151 p. : 27 illus., 18 illus. in color)
- ISBN
- 9783319435923
- 9783319435909 (print ed.)
- Subjects (MeSH)
- Homeopathy
- Abstract
- This book traces the genesis, principles and practice of homeopathy, and discusses the reasons for its enduring popularity. Two hundred years ago, medicine had little to offer except blood letting and the administration of violent purgatives--practices which shortened the course of illness by hastening the death of the patient. Largely in reaction to what he correctly saw as the brutality and ineffectiveness of the medicine of his day, the eighteenth century German physician Samuel Hahnemann developed a system of therapeutics that he termed homeopathy. Ironically, while modern medicine has changed beyond recognition, homeopathy, with its roots in alchemy and metaphysics, continues to be practiced precisely as it was in Hahnemann's day. Readers of this book will enjoy the story of homeopathy and its almost magical attraction, whilst learning much from the authors' rational and scientific discussion of the biological, chemical and psychological questions that this treatment raises.
- Contents
- Part I: The Facts of the Matter -- Introduction -- Definition and Main Principles of Homeopathy -- Myths about Homeopathy -- Current Popularity, Acceptance, and Regulation of Homeopathy -- History of Homeopathy -- Different Types of Homeopathy and Homeopaths -- The Patients of Homeopaths -- Homeopathy as a Criticism of Conventional Medicine -- Scientific Evidence -- Spurious Arguments for and Counter-Arguments against Homeopathy -- Part II: Lexicon of Homeopathy.
- Format
- e-Book
- Publication Type
- Popular Works
- Location
- Online
More Harm than Good? : The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
https://libcat.nshealth.ca/en/permalink/provcat42926
Edzard Ernst, Kevin Smith.
--Cham, Switzerland:
Springer
, c2018.
- Available Online
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- Location
- Online
This book reveals the numerous ways in which moral, ethical and legal principles are being violated by those who provide, recommend or sell complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The book analyses both academic literature and internet sources that promote CAM. Additionally the book presents a number of brief scenarios, both hypothetical and real-life, about individuals who use CAM or who fall prey to ethically dubious CAM practitioners. The events and conundrums described in these scenar…
- Available Online
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- Author
- Ernst, Edzard
- Other Authors
- Smith, Kevin
- Responsibility
- Edzard Ernst, Kevin Smith
- Place of Publication
- Cham, Switzerland
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date of Publication
- c2018
- Physical Description
- 1 online resource (xxv, 223 p
- ISBN
- 9783319699417
- 9783319699400 (print ed.)
- 9783319699424 (print ed.)
- Subjects (MeSH)
- Complementary Therapies - ethics
- Therapeutics - adverse effects
- United States
- Unnecessary Procedures - ethics
- Specialty
- Complementary Therapies
- Ethics
- Abstract
- This book reveals the numerous ways in which moral, ethical and legal principles are being violated by those who provide, recommend or sell complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The book analyses both academic literature and internet sources that promote CAM. Additionally the book presents a number of brief scenarios, both hypothetical and real-life, about individuals who use CAM or who fall prey to ethically dubious CAM practitioners. The events and conundrums described in these scenarios could happen to almost anyone. Professor emeritus of complementary medicine Edzard Ernst together with bioethicist Kevin Smith provide a thorough and authoritative ethical analysis of a range of CAM modalities, including acupuncture, chiropractic, herbalism, and homeopathy. This book could and should interest all medical professionals who have contact to complementary medicine and will be an invaluable reference for patients deliberating which course of treatment to adopt.
- Contents
- Introduction to Medical Ethics -- 1. Clinical Competence -- 2. Research Fundamentals -- 3. The Reality of CAM Research -- 4. Education --5. Informed Consent -- 6. Truth -- 7. Exploitation -- Postscript -- Glossary.
- Format
- e-Book
- Location
- Online
