In the event that prayer is incorporated, that amount swells to approximately 62%. By 2007 CAM usage enhanced to approximately 14% (Edwards, 2008)
Classifying CAM CAM can be classified as a treatment that focuses on complete mind-body healing. But what does it mean to deal with the entire person's mind-and-body or general health? It indicates taking into consideration the full variety of factors that may impact mental wellness, which includes: Bodily Psychological -- Environment -- Spiritual or Faith based -- Energy affects (Stradford
Conventional medicine takes a preventive perspective as well, stressing proper diet and nutrition, but a more realistic fashion and thus yield more appreciable results. Furthermore, studies suggest that eating real food, as opposed to alternative supplements or following fad diets, elimination diets, or diets that do not contain an entire group of food (such as meat or carbohydrate) are more health-promoting and sustainable over the long-term (Parker-Pope 2009)
This reminder is especially relevant considering the main audience of the medical journal Oncology Nursing Forum consists of the healthcare professionals charged with a most difficult task: caring for existing prostate cancer patients and changing the belief systems of subsequent generations to prevent the disease from ravaging one race at a disparate rate. Controlled studies conducted within the nursing profession have consistently demonstrated that, while traditional and allopathic medicinal practices such as "digital rectal examination, prostate-specific antigen, and transrectal ultrasound have been identified as effective means of early detection of prostate cancer, African-American men tend to underuse these services as compared to white men" (Agho and Lewis, 2001), and these findings have serious implications for the medical community
Controlled studies conducted within the nursing profession have consistently demonstrated that, while traditional and allopathic medicinal practices such as "digital rectal examination, prostate-specific antigen, and transrectal ultrasound have been identified as effective means of early detection of prostate cancer, African-American men tend to underuse these services as compared to white men" (Agho and Lewis, 2001), and these findings have serious implications for the medical community. In order to fully accomplish the goal of preventing and treating disease, nurses and doctors must strive to bridge the gap which exists between the medical profession and the African-American community (Boehm et al
Jones, Taylor and their fellow researchers also found that the higher rate of prostate cancer within African-American populations was linked to a widespread cultural distrust of health care providers and the use of complementary and alternative modalities (CAMs) of health care that this mistrust entails. The authors find that when nurses and doctors "acknowledge that spiritual and religious beliefs are prevalent among African-American men," this acknowledgment "may help healthcare professionals provide a more supportive environment" (Jones et al
, 2007), and their report concludes that an appreciation of cultural beliefs on the part of healthcare providers may encourage African-American men to pursue traditional treatment options in addition to less effective alternatives. In a nation which has known deep racial division throughout its history, the fact that "for decades, African-American men have had the highest prostate cancer incidence rate of any raciallethnic group in the world" (McIntosh, 1997) is quite alarming and suggests that the consequences of institutionalized prejudice are felt long after outright bigotry is abolished