Integrative medical practitioners and the use of evidence

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• 作者：Karen F. Willis ; Jo-Anne Rayner
• 关键词：Integrative medicine ; Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) ; Sociology ; Public health ; Evidence ; Professions
• 刊名：European Journal of Integrative Medicine
• 出版年：October, 2013
• 年：2013
• 卷：5
• 期：5
• 页码：410-417
• 全文大小：500 K

文摘

Introduction

Increasing numbers of general medical practitioners in Australia define themselves as integrative practitioners, incorporating both allopathic and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an environment where evidence-based medicine is the hallmark of best practice in medicine.

Methodology and approach

We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 23 self-identified integrative medical practitioners in two states of Australia. Participants were recruited from publicly available lists of self-identified integrative medical practitioners - the local telephone listing and the website of their professional organisation. Interviews explored how doctors define and use evidence in their practice. We undertook a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts with particular exploration of the key ideas that emerged about their use of evidence.

Results

These practitioners are sceptical about the dominance of the evidence-based medicine movement, and push to reclaim their autonomy based on the indeterminancy of individual cases. They acknowledge that an understanding of clinical benefit may not be scientifically evidenced and utilise discourses of experience and safety in discussing their clinical practice.

Conclusions

Our findings provide further insights into how medical practitioners work within their own profession, their relationships with other care providers (specifically CAM practitioners), their views about their non-integrative medical peers and their resistance to prescribed ways of clinical practice.