Ward, T. 2009. Chinese medicine practitioners perspectives on the use of biomedical information in their practice: a Q methodological study. in: Wangchuk, D. (ed.) Proceedings of ICTAM VII: Seventh International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine, September 7th to 11th, 2009, Institute for traditional medicine services, Thimphu, Bhutan IASTAM.
| Chapter title | Chinese medicine practitioners perspectives on the use of biomedical information in their practice: a Q methodological study |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ward, T. |
| Editors | Wangchuk, D. |
| Abstract | Both the global dominance of Biomedicine as well as the diversity of medical practice have been widely documented in ethnographic and historical studies. How such diversity manifests around the question of how Biomedicine influences Chinese medicine practitioner’s practice is investigated here. Q methodology, a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative methods (that challenges such divisions) is chosen for its ‘focus on eliciting and describing a wide diversity of different subjective experiences, perspectives, and beliefs, none of which are defined a priori by the researcher’ (Kitzinger 1999). Through capturing the richness and complexity of various points of view it can identify points of conflict and consensus that can offer directions for future action or research. However whilst looking at subjective opinions it is not interested in who said what, but rather what is being said about the topic. For subjectivity is seen to be forged in the social milieu. And in acknowledging that Chinese medicine today is not of course contained within Chinese borders international perspectives are sought. The commonly accepted view that the two systems lead to greater clarity of the whole is challenged on epistemological grounds. |
| Book title | Proceedings of ICTAM VII: Seventh International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine, September 7th to 11th, 2009, Institute for traditional medicine services, Thimphu, Bhutan |
| Year | 2009 |
| Publisher | IASTAM |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 2009 |