Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief and
Richard Mack, Jr, PhD, Chair, Community Advisory Board, Harlem Health Promotion Center
Because this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.
From an anthropological perspective,ethnomedicinemeaning the folk medicines of specific ethnicgroupsdepends on location. Preliterate indigenous populationsused plants that were available in their local environmentsto treat illness and promote health. Diverse folk remedies thusevolved that were passed down through oral traditions. Mosttraditional healers learned their art through apprenticeship.As populations converged, dominant cultures gained ascendancy,and in most places throughout the world today Western medicineis considered preeminent. Indeed, "complementary and alternativemedicine" (CAM) refers to a broad set of health care practicesthat are not integrated into the dominant health care system.Nonetheless, close to . . . [Full Text]
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[Abstract][PDF]