How medicine could have developed differently: A Tory historiographical analysis of the conflict between allopathic and homoeopathic medicine in America and Britain from 1870 to 1920.

After its formulation by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) at the end of the 18th century, homoeopathy spread to Britain and America in the 1820ร. Based upon the principle or law of "similia similibus curentur"- let like be cured by like-homoeopathy presented a serious challenge to allopathic medicine. By the 1870s homoeopaths were part of science, performing the first single blind clinical trial, establishing the action of drugs upon the body by experimentation and investigating the nature of matter. Institutionally established, especially in the U.S., they regularly published statistics demonstrating the superiority of homoeopathic treatment in both general practice and in hospitals. Allopaths responded by "nihilating" homoeopathic theory and practice on several levels. Through the language of bacteriology they absorbed key homoeopathic tenets into their own symbolic universe. During the Progressive Era allopaths' ideological resonance with the corporations enabled them to finally vanquish homoeopaths and define medical science along new lines. Homoeopathy's decline in the 1920s was precipitated by its inability to handle experimental error effectively. Yet homoeopaths had raised important epistemological questions about the nature of the relationship between drugs and the human organism. These were never resolved but became repressed along with homoeopathy's scientific history. Since Tory historiography claims that the past informs the future, my aim in recovering homeopathy’s history is to highlight the contemporary importance of these issues for medicine. Only by explicitly addressing these unresolved dilemmas will the Hegelian outworking of Reason be accomplished

Reforming towards a scientific medicine and a changing social identity: British homoeopathy, 1866-1893

This study aims to investigate whether homoeopathydeclinedn Britainduring the second half of the nineteenth centurywhen anemerging medicalprofession converged with the dawn of biomedicine. Previousstudies of the history of homoeopathy are often coloured by controversies over homoeopathy odayy To avoid the pitfalls of a presentist definition of homoeopathy and a dichotomous view of the relationship between homoeopathy and orthodox medicine, I analyse 'homoeopathy' as a social identityrather than a medical system or a collection of medical institutions. This study focuses on the homoeopathies' of medicallyy-ualified practitioners. I identify two important aspects of the socialdentity of professional homoeopaths: the idea of scientific medicine, and the identification with themedical profession. In this thesis I trace how the changes in these two aspectswereranslated into new homoeopathic practicetheories, andrelationships with themedical profession and lay public between 1866 and 1893I examine theextensive discussions among professional British homoeopaths regarding medical theoryand practice, and heir relationship with other medical practitioners and the publicas representedn homoeopathic journalspublications and archival sources during the time periodd This study challenges four prevailing notions in the historiography of heterodox medicine: the use of dichotomous frameworks to analyse acon~icting relationship between heterodox and orthodox medicines, the negligence of the deasof science in heterodox medicine, the notion of the ~decline~ of heterodox medicine during the second half of the nineteenth centuryand a grand narrativeof Angloo-axon homoeopathy. I conclude that professional homoeopathydid not decline' or become 'static' during the second half of the nineteenthcenturyn BritainnProfessional homoeopaths identified themselves first as scientific and professionalpractitioners rather than homoeopathic physicians. Homoeopathy' did not establishtself as an independent identity and its practitioners gradually merged withorthodoxynhe name of scientific medicine

Health attitudes and personal health-care decisions in Bombay, India.

Utilisation of medical sources other than the modern Western medicine (Allopathy) is characteristic of most societies. Health-care utilisation studies, in medically pluralistic societies, fall short of providing adequate explanation of how and why different medical sources are used. The present thesis is an attempt to delineate the social psychology of the health-care utilisation behaviour of people in Bombay by concentrating on the interplay between the individual, the social environment and the culture. It, therefore, benefits from disciplines both within and outside mainstream psychology like societal psychology, sociology, anthropology and medicine. The study addresses a twofold question: how are treatment related decisions made and what are their determinants. To answer these questions, an understanding of variables pertaining to the person as well as a consideration of the societal context is necessary. Following a quantitative pilot study, the research involved retrospective data collected with the help of a partially structured questionnaire using a quota sample of 480 Gujarati-speaking adults. The quotas were set for sex, income and illness types. The survey instrument elicited information on predisposing (demographic, social structural, belief and social), enabling (family resources and prior access) and illness (type and manifestation) variables as well as the process of seeking care. The results, highlight that health-care utilisation behaviour in a medically pluralistic setting is not a singular act but a continuously evolving decision-making process wherein sources are used differentially. Typically, the treatment-seeking process began with the use of non-formal sources, followed by an entry into the professional sector, invariably through an Allopathic family doctor. Subsequently, the individuals either revert back to non-formal sources, continue to remain within Allopathy or exhibit an irreversible shift to non-Allopathic formal sources. Accordingly, there exists a need to redefine health-care utilisation behaviour in terms of sequential patterns of usage. These patterns, are determined by individually based variables belonging to all three categories as mentioned above. However, in contrast to certain trends, the effect of demographic, social structural and income variable was very small. Between 18-42% of the respondents within each illness cluster, used two or more formal medical systems. Compared to their counterparts who used only one formal system, the multiple users were more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses, rely on lay advice, prefer non-Allopathic systems and already have an access to non-Allopathic sources of care

AYUSH in INDIA 2018

Planning and Evaluation Division of the Ministry of AYUSH is bringing out the 30 issue of its regular publication “AYUSH IN INDIA-2018”. This publication provides authentic data/statistics as a tool for policy planning and execution of programme in AYUSH sector. It provides the comprehensive information on various aspects of AYUSH system in different states/UTs in the country like healthcare facilities, medical manpower, medical education, licensed pharmacies, etc. I am sure that this publication will certainly be useful for all the users, ranging from students, AYUSH practitioners, policymakers and public at large for an over view of AYUSH Systems in India. The data contained in the publication has been collected from various source agencies viz. Directors of Health Services of ISM&H, Drug Controllers of AYUSH in various states, State Boards of ISM & Hand different AYUSH Medical Colleges spread all over the country as well as from the National Institutes and Research Councils working under the Ministry. The concerted efforts made by the Officers and Staff of the Planning & Evaluation Division for bringing out the publication are commendable. It is our endeavour to improve the quality of the publication for which suggestions for further improvements are readily welcome

Knowing the body and embodying knowledge: an ethnography of student practitioner experiences in osteopathy and homeopathy

The subject of this thesis is the lived experience of training in non-orthodox health care professions1 or CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) as it is commonly known. The thesis focuses both on the nature of the knowledge and skills acquired during training (knowledge of the body) and the changing embodiment of the students (embodying knowledge). It is based on ethnographic research, conducted over one academic year, at two case-study sites: the anonymized Colleges of Homeopathy and Osteopathy. The data presented in this thesis offers four distinct contributions. Methodologically, it offers insights into the embodied experience of conducting sociological research and the deep impact that this experience has on the researcher, further supporting the argument that reflexivity is a vital component of valid and reliable research. Empirically, it contributes to our understanding of an under-researched area, the ?Tactice of CAM therapies generally, and the training of practitioners particularly. Theoretically, the explicit focus of both the participants in the study .and myself, as researcher, on 'bodies' makes it a worthwhile topic of study to contribute to the growing discipline of embodied sociology. Finally, from a social policy perspective, the explosion of interest in CAM in recent years, and particularly the growing pressure on practitioners to regulate their professions, makes research into the nature of professional knowledge and practice very timely. The thesis concludes that it is of critical importance to consider embodiment in any understanding of healthcare knowledge or practice. In particular, an embodied sociological perspective permits recognition of the depth and nature of the knowledge and skills that healthcare practitioners learn to deploy on a day-to-day basis

Digesting modernity: Body, illness and medicine in Kolkata (Calcutta).

This Ph.D. thesis presents an anthropological perspective on popular and professional concepts of the body in Kolkata (Calcutta), with special reference to ideas about the stomach/belly and the digestive system. By altering the routines and practices of daily life, changes brought about by modernization, globalization and urbanization are often associated with a decline of mental and physical well-being. In this context, the aim of this study is to juxtapose popular practices of self-care with professional views on illness and medicine. How do people in Kolkata perceive their bodies. How do they speak about health problems linked to digestion. What are the perceptions of health and illness among different medical professionals. How does this discourse reflect anxieties about the consequences of modernity in Kolkata. The data of this study are drawn from ethnographic fieldwork carried out between July 1999 and December 2000. Interviews and participant observation were conducted with a cross-section of the Bengali Hindu population in a local area in South-West Kolkata, and in selected other areas of the city. Data collection focused on metaphors around stomach/belly (Bengali: pet), and on popular practices of self-care in relation to bodily well-being. For research on professional medicine, interviews and participant observation were carried out with healers from thee different medical systems: allopathy (biomedicine), homeopathy, and Ayurveda. From each of these systems, fifteen to twenty healers were interviewed on how they perceive their patients, and how these perceptions influence their medical practice