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NATURAL AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINE IN CUBA: OUTMODED QUACKERY OR A LEGITIMATE TRIBUTARY TO SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE?
Abstract
'Quackery', 'charlatanism', 'hocus pocus' or more simply, 'fraud'; natural and traditional medicine has long been subject to disparaging judgements from the annals of Western medicine (Manewtiz 2001). Despite this however, one country securely anchored within the paradigm of Western, empirically-based medicine and in possession of superior health indicators, continues to employ these controversial methodologies; this country is Cuba (MEDICC 2011; WHO 2008). Cuba is a world leader in the integration of natural and traditional medicine (NTM) into its conventional practices and this essay sets out to examine this anomaly (Bancroft-Hinchey 2010). This article begins with a clarification of the term NTM, and examples of its multiple modalities. It then attends to the factors that precipitated the rise of NTM in Cuba initially, underscoring the economic necessity of its adoption. It then examines its proliferation and the manner in which it has been integrated into mainstream medical practice. Before concluding, the article examines the rationale behind NTM's continued use, considers its scientific basis and whether there are factors other than economic savings that necessitate its inclusion within the Cuban healthcare system. To conclude, the article confronts the question: should Cuba's healthcare system abandon the integration of natural and traditional medicine or does it truly have something to offer?
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References
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