What is it about?
The underlying philosophies of health promotion and complementary therapies are very closely related and, consequently, share many similarities; yet such similarities that exist between these two disciplines are rarely expressed, acknowledged or explored. It would be almost impossible to practice complementary therapies without incorporating elements of health promotion within them, whether this is done so knowingly, or not, by the practitioner.
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Why is it important?
This account sets out to establish the nature of such a relationship and highlights the common advantages and dilemmas in recognizing such a relationship. It seeks to determine the validity of closer collaboration (between the two disciplines) in order to provide a collective consensus for like-minded nurses to move towards a more holistic and empowering paradigm. It concludes by suggesting that, in order to move the shared aims of health promotion and complementary therapies forward, closer ties need to be established, between the disciplines, and built upon.
Perspectives
In order that we offer and provide therapeutic partnerships in health care, both between profes- sionals and clients and professionals themselves, close collaboration between all health-care profes- sionals can only serve to promote and integrate complementary therapies within orthodox prac- tice (Rankin-Box 1995). It appears, from the evidence so far, that this is primarily the case when identifying practitioners who are involved with health-promoting practices and initiatives. If, according to Pietroni (1997), complementary practitioners 'continue to work as isolated in- dividuals within their own isolated disciplines', it would seem that this remains a somewhat elusive exercise, for those concerned, and presents a clear goal to work towards. It could be argued that collaboration with health-promotionalist specia- lists, within nursing or allied fields, would be of particul~Hbenefit to complementary practitioners, especially as health promotion is seen to have a more proven a n d credible research base to its activities.
Dr Dean Whitehead
Flinders University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The relationship between health promotion and complementary therapies, Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery, December 1999, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/s1353-6117(99)80082-1.
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