Overdose beliefs and management practices among ethnic Vietnamese heroin users in Sydney, Australia

Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine in Vietnamese Populations: A Review of Health Perceptions and Therapies

In Vietnam, two types of traditional medicine (TM) are practiced: thuoc nam, medicine of the South, and thuoc bac, medicine of the North, both of which are largely based on herbal drugs used by different Vietnamese ethnic groups. This review presents recently published information from various databases regarding TM, especially herbal drugs, and its integration with Western medical practices outside and inside Vietnam. We first discuss the integration of traditional and modern health concepts by Vietnamese immigrants living outside Vietnam. Next, we describe native and emigrated health education and practices of pharmacy students, health professionals, and citizens living in Vietnam. Finally, we report the recent biological validation of medicinal plants and non-herbal therapies emerging from Vietnamese TM and their current and potential medical uses as identified by Western approaches. The main example described here involves utilization of the tree Artocarpus tonkinensis by the ethnic minority of Black Hmong in northern Vietnam, who use a decoction of its leaves to treat arthritis and backache without apparent adverse effects. Our comprehensive review emphasizes that, although Vietnam has a very rich collection of TM practices (particularly the use of herbal drugs), these therapies should be biologically and clinically validated with modern Western methods for optimal integration of Western and traditional medicine in global populations.

The symbolic roots of blood donation

BACKGROUND

Throughout history, blood has been embedded with powerful and paradoxical connotations. In the last decades, a more rational conception based on scientific knowledge has emerged, portraying blood as a "disenchanted" and utilitarian object, hence more apt for donation between strangers. This study aims to examine blood's representations in Quebec, Canada.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Data were collected in four separate studies carried out between 2009 and 2011 in Quebec. A total of 234 1 to 1½ hour-long semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with: 184 donors (including lapsed donors) and 50 nondonors; 106 women and 128 men from a variety of age groups eligible to donate; 76 minority informants from Asian, Middle-Eastern, Latin American, African, and Caribbean origins; and 158 informants from the majority society.

RESULTS

Many respondents donated blood because it was a "useful" substance. Others associated blood donation with a gift of vitality, strength, and energy. Some stressed the irreplaceable nature of blood, its rarity, and preciousness. It can also be associated with worrisome representations and seen as "bad" or carry infections: as a fluid, it has the ability to cross troublesome body boundaries.

CONCLUSION

This overview of contemporary representations of blood in relation to blood donation in Quebec illustrates that though this substance might be disenchanted for many, it still maintains its mysteriousness for others, which underpins the importance of its social, cultural, and religious representations that can potentially lead to useful avenues in improving donor recruitment and retention.