Older adults' use of complementary and alternative medical therapies to resist biomedicalization of aging

Fries, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2013.11.001

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Anti‐ageing medicine was considered to be a healthier and safer option than surgery and enabled them to resist routinised medical interventions. In this regard, we concur it is a ‘lay driven response to the biomedicalisation of aging’ (Fries : 8).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…The users’ negative encounters with Western medicine led them to turn to anti‐ageing medicine with the support of anti‐ageing specialists. Similarly, Fries (: 8) views CAM use among older individuals as a means to take control over their ageing bodies in what Fries calls ‘a lay driven response to the biomedicalisation of aging’.…”

Section: Self‐care In the Context Of Anti‐ageing Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the past, older individuals in medical settings were seen as passive care recipients who were obedient to their doctors' medical advice (Lupton 1997). Now they seek the best health practices, even outside Western medicine if necessary, in order to maximise their health (Flaherty et al 2001, Fries 2014, Watts-Roy 2009. Indeed, Watts-Roy (2009: 439) argues that the use of anti-ageing medicine constitutes 'a powerful criticism of the traditional biomedical encounter' and finds that the choice to use anti-ageing medicine was derived from lived experiences, what Watts-Roy calls ongoing life journeys.…”

Section: Self-care In the Context Of Anti-ageing Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

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Culturally embedded health beliefs, self‐care and the use of anti‐ageing medicine among Australian and Japanese older adults

Omori

Dempsey

2018

Sociology Health & Illness

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Adopting Kleinman's and Lock's ideas that there are cultural variations in understandings of health care and the medicalisation of ageing bodies, this study compares and contrasts older adults' use of anti-ageing medicine in two cultural settings. Based on 42 interviews conducted in Australia and Japan with adults aged 60 and over, findings revealed distinct pathways to initiating anti-ageing medicine use between the two cohorts which reflect different attitudes to the medicalisation of ageing in the two settings. In Australia where consultation of medical doctors for major and minor ailments is routine for many older adults, supplement use was initiated on doctor's advice, or reactionary, in that dissatisfaction with doctors' advice was the impetus. By contrast, many Japanese elders did not seek the advice of medical practitioners for minor health issues, considering them instead to be part of a natural process of ageing, and viewed their supplement use as co-extensive with their use of Shokuji-ryohou or a traditional corrective diet. Despite these cultural differences, both the Australian and Japanese elders resisted more extreme manifestations of the biomedicalisation of ageing and took anti-ageing medicine to ward off the perceived danger of surgery in later life.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Self‐care In the Context Of Anti‐ageing Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Self-care In the Context Of Anti-ageing Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

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Culturally embedded health beliefs, self‐care and the use of anti‐ageing medicine among Australian and Japanese older adults

Omori

Dempsey

2018

Sociology Health & Illness

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“…However, a counterargument can be made that these pre-diseases contribute to the biomedicalization of the ageing process which increasingly blurs the boundary between acceptable functioning and diagnosable disorders. 62 With early detection of a predisposition to cognitive decline, that boundary may extend to ageing individuals who might otherwise be ageing "successfully" (i.e. productively).…”

Section: Econ Om I C C Onsi D Er a Ti On S I N Cogn I Ti V E A Ge Imentioning

confidence: 99%

A prospectus for ethical analysis of ageing individuals' responsibility to prevent cognitive decline

Forlini¹,

Hall²

2017

Bioethics

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As the world's population ages, governments and non-governmental organizations in developed countries are promoting healthy cognitive ageing to reduce the rate of age-related cognitive decline and sustain economic productivity in an ageing workforce. Recommendations from the Productivity Commission (Australia), Dementia Australia, Government Office for Science (UK), Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (USA), Institute of Medicine (USA), among others, are encouraging older adults to engage in mental, physical, and social activities. These lifestyle recommendations for healthy cognitive ageing are timely and well supported by scientific evidence but they make implicit normative judgments about the responsibility of ageing individuals to prevent cognitive decline. Ethical tensions arise when this individual responsibility collides with social and personal realities of ageing populations. First, we contextualize the priority given to healthy cognitive ageing within the current brain-based medical and social discourses. Second, we explore the individual responsibility by examining the economic considerations, medical evidence and individual interests that relate to the priority given to healthy cognitive ageing. Third, we identify three key ethical challenges for policymakers seeking to implement lifestyle recommendations as an effective population-level approach to healthy cognitive ageing. The result is a prospectus for future in-depth analysis of ethical tensions that arise from current policy discussions of healthy cognitive ageing.

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“…Unfortunately, the limited resources of the study did not allow the use of time-consuming questionnaires which might have enhanced the terminological precision. Furthermore, qualitative approaches addressing age-specific perceptions of CAM and self-care behavior in general [29] could not be pursued in the context of the present research project.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Use and Level of Awareness of CAM in Older People - Results from the KORA-Age Study

Weidenhammer

Lacruz²,

Emeny³

et al. 2014

Complement Med Res

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Background: Despite the growing proportion of older adults in Europe there is only limited knowledge of CAM use among the elderly. This analysis aims to provide estimates for the prevalence of CAM use in persons with an age of ≥65, and to investigate correlations of CAM use with demographic characteristics. Methods: Based on participants of the MONICA/KORA studies S1-S4 who were born before 1944, a random sample of 1,079 was selected for comprehensive medical examinations. Questions were presented in structured face-to-face interviews conducted from February to November 2009. Results: Data on CAM use were available for 1,026 subjects with a mean age of 76 years, ranging from 65 to 93 years. 14% of the participants were unaware of CAM. The overall prevalence of CAM use was estimated 37% with minor differences between age groups, but clear differences between male (29%) and female (44%) participants. 1-year prevalence of CAM use was 22% (16% males, 28% females). 1-year of CAM use was associated with a higher level of education in both men and women; with higher income in men; and with more actual diseases in women. Conclusion: Findings indicate that awareness of CAM is high even among people ≥65 years. Estimates for the prevalence of CAM use confirm the relevance of this treatment sector in the healthcare system for the elderly.

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Older adults' use of complementary and alternative medical therapies to resist biomedicalization of aging

Cited by 11 publications

References 29 publications

Culturally embedded health beliefs, self‐care and the use of anti‐ageing medicine among Australian and Japanese older adults

Culturally embedded health beliefs, self‐care and the use of anti‐ageing medicine among Australian and Japanese older adults

A prospectus for ethical analysis of ageing individuals' responsibility to prevent cognitive decline

Prevalence of Use and Level of Awareness of CAM in Older People - Results from the KORA-Age Study

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