Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Older Adults: A Guide to Holistic Approaches to Healthy Aging

by Elizabeth R. Mackenzie PhD (Editor), Birgit Rakel MD (Editor)

Overview

The field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is expected to grow tremendously in the next few years. In addition to an increase in the general population, the baby-boomer generation is quickly entering retirement and will likely take advantage of CAM increasingly as it ages.

Although CAM research as applied to aging is just beginning and health professionals receive no special training in CAM and aging, the United States population still continues to employ it. For diagnoses that accompany aging such as cancer, neurological diseases, psychiatric disorders, and physical disabilities, CAM has often been used in addition to or in place of unsuccessful conventional methods of treatment.

This new and up-to-the-minute compendium of reliable and authoritative information on complementary and alternative therapies seeks to provide information that older adults may use as they seek to improve their health and quality of life. Covering dietary means; physical, mental, and spiritual methods of treatment; and various types of therapies, this handbook is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource on complementary and alternative medicine available today.

Each chapter or article includes:

• Brief definition of modality
• Anecdotal reports of usefulness
• Discussion of scientific evidence for and against modality
• List of resources that reader can use to find further information

Examples of therapies covered include:

• Art&Music
• Massage
• Acupuncture
• Meditation
• Homeopathy
• Ayurveda
• Aromatherapy

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826138064
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/22/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Elizabeth R. Mackenzie (PhD), currently teaches courses on humanistic medicine in the School of Arts and Sciences at the Univeristy of Pennsylvania, where she is a Senior Fellow in the Writing Center, a Lecturer in the History and Sociology of Science department, and an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Aging.

Birgit Rakel, MD, is on the faculty of the Jefferson Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

"

Contributors
Preface by Elizabeth R. Mackenzie and Birgit Rakel
Acknowledgments
Foreword, Marc Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.

1. Holistic Approaches to Healthy Aging, Elizabeth R. Mackenzie and Birgit Rakel
2. Healthy and Therapeutic Diets that Promote Optimal Aging, Joel S. Edman
3. Supplements and Herbs, Ara DerMarderosian and Michael Briggs
4. Homeopathy as an Aid to Healthy Aging, Joyce Frye
5. Music, Health, and Well-Being, Elaine Abbott and Kathleen Avins
6. Art Therapy, Caroline Peterson
7. Massage Therapy and Older Adults, Eileen Kennedy and Cheryl Chapman
8. Daoist Spirituality and Philosophy: Implications for Holistic Health, Aging, and Longevity, Amy L. Ai
9. Medical Acupuncture, James R. Rotchford
10. The Benefits of Qigong, Kevin Chen, Elizabeth R. Mackenzie, and Master FaXiang Hou
11. Yoga: An Introduction, Robert Butera
12. Ayurveda: Mother of Traditional Medicine, Mari Clements
13. Meditation and Healthy Aging, Elaine J. Yuen and Michael J. Baime
14. The Concept of Spiritual Well-Being and the Care of Older Adults, Amy L. Ai and Elizabeth R. Mackenzie
15. Therapeutic Gardens, Jack Carman
16. The Eden Alternative: Nurturing the Human Spirit in Long-Term Care, Sandy Ransom

Index "

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This wonderful little book...concentrates on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)....Each of 16 chapters discusses a different CAM modality, and is written by an expert in the field. Each provides a superb overview and is highly referenced....This book is not an in-depth resource....It is, however, a much more portable and useful guide for physicians, nurses, social workers, and patient educators, as they seek to provide information to older persons. Highly recommended."—Choice

"This is the most useful description and discussion of complementary and alternative medicine I have encountered. This excellent book deserves a wide readership."—Doody's Review Service

"...a timely addition to the literature on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It has been edited by two highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals in CAM research and practice with contributions from a national sample of recognized experts in relevant fields. This important topic should be given a wide audience."
—From the foreword by Marc S. Micozzi, MD, PhD, Director, Policy Institute for Integrative Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

"The book is most appropriate as an introductory text for non-CAM healthcare professionals who work with older adults."— Karen B. Schmaling and Sandi J. Lane, from PsycCRITIQUES

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: David O. Staats, MD (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center)
Description: This multiauthored guide to complementary and alternative medicine for older adults explains the new world of integrated medicine.
Purpose: This book aims to be a "snapshot of the moving target" of the developing areas of complementary and integrative medicine. Their applications to caring for older persons and enhancing the health of an aging society are the aims of this book.
Audience: Students, trainees, and practitioners of a wide range of medicine will find this book useful and informative. The authors are all authorities in their domains.
Features: A very pleasing aspect of this book is its organization and thoroughness. After an introductory overview, there are chapters on therapeutic diets, herbal medications, homeopathy, music therapy, art therapy, massage therapy, Daoist healing arts, acupuncture, Qigong, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, mediation, spirituality and religion, therapeutic gardens, and the Eden Alternative in long-term care. Each chapter has scholarly annotations and a list of resources (Internet-based and organizations) and a list of books for further reading.
Assessment: This is clearly a significant contribution to the field. Always objective, never preachy or flakey, the clear scholarly tone gives a great deal of information and interpretation. There are very useful discussions of drug/herbal interactions and the limitations and contraindications for each of the modalities. This is the most useful description and discussion of complementary and alternative medicine I have encountered. This excellent book deserves a wide readership.

Doody's Review Service