Stepping back from the immediate demands of policy-making, Mainstreaming Complementary and Alternative Medicine allows a complex and informative picture to emerge of the different social forces at play in the integration of CAM with orthodox medicine. Complementing books that focus solely on practice, it will be relevant reading for all students following health studies or healthcare courses, for medical students and medical and healthcare professionals.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a major component of health care in most late modern societies. While there is increasing recognition of the need for more research in this area, it is frequently argued that such research should be directed towards establishing 'evidence' of the effectiveness of CAM. However, complementary medicine is also a topic worthy of study in its own right, a historically contingent social product, and it is this sociological agenda that underpins Mainstreaming Complementary and Alternative Medicine . Contributors to the book come from the UK, USA, Canada.

Millions of Americans are using complementary and alternative medicine and spending billions of dollars, out-of-pocket, for it. Why? Do the therapies work? Are they safe? Are any covered by insurance? How is the medical profession responding to the growing use of therapies that were only recently thought of as quackery? These are some of the many questions asked and answered in this book. It describes a transformation in the status of alternative medicine within health care. Paving the way toward legitimacy is research currently underway and funded by the National Institutes of Health. This research is proving the safety and efficacy of certain therapies and the harm or inefficacy of others. While some therapies will remain alternative to conventional medicine, others are becoming complementary, and still others are busting the boundaries and contributing to a new approach to health and healing called integrative medicine.

Would you use complementary and alternative medicines (CAMS)? Well, research has shown that up to three quarters of patients with cancer may at least supplement their treatment with such therapies, spending as much on CAMS as conventional drugs. How do you decide? This book provides a full range of perspectives on CAMS from patients and CAMS practitioners to conventional doctors who oppose the use of these alternative treatments because of the lack of evidence of efficacy and safety. Then there are the CAMS researchers, educators and regulators who view CAMS from different perspectives. The broad array of opinions build a complete picture of the issues for discerning readers to be adequately informed to make up their minds and draw their own conclusions.

This book explores the historical, social, political and cultural facets of integration between complementary and alternative medicine and nursing/midwifery. It examines the ever-expanding integration in relation to: the role and conceptualization of the patient the role and responsibilities of different professional healthcare providers (nurses, midwives, alternative therapists, etc) the future provision and approach of nursing and midwifery practice the challenges and opportunities currently facing healthcare systems as a result of integration. This innovative book provides the first critical overview of this important field of health research. It is important reading for medical sociologists, nurses and other health professionals - as well as students in these areas - with an interest in complementary and alternative medicine.