Chinese medicine meets American sensibilities: The use of Chinese medicine in the treatment of chronic conditions

This research was designed to articulate a conceptualization of chronic illness using the framework of Oriental medicine, focusing primarily on Chinese medicine. The research was conducted using the ethnographic method of semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interviewed, were twenty providers of Oriental medicine, mostly practicing in Boulder CO (N=15), with a number in Denver (N=3), Louisville (N=1), and Longmont (N=1). The respondents were asked a set number of questions, divided into four sections: (1) exposure to, and experience in Oriental medicine, (2) roots, philosophical claims, type of training and practice protocols, (3) relationship to biomedicine, participant's general health and (4) defining chronic illness and Chinese medicine's place in its treatment.; The emergent themes emphasize and further explore a number of aspects that past research undertakings have considered in the United States and abroad. These themes include the organic and evolving nature of this system of medicine as it interacts and is transformed with the broader and local American culture it encounters. It then explores reasons for why patients seek Chinese medicine in their care, followed by their expectations of treatment. Emphasis is placed on the roles assumed by patient and provider in the medical encounter, encouraging patient responsibility. This is followed by a discussion of the Chinese model of health and disease, where illness is explored as it pertains to the broader context of life. Lastly, the strategic nature of the medicine is discussed, looking at how empirical evidence is gathered and assessed, and reactions to treatments, subtle and more pronounced, dictate further treatment.