Volume 35, Issue 2, Supplement, March–April 2014, Pages S45–S48
Disseminating Research Findings in Geriatric Nursing: New Care Approaches and Perspectives
Feature Article
Older immigrants from the former Soviet Union and their use of complementary and alternative medicine
Abstract
The
population of older immigrants in the United States is growing and they
bring their health beliefs and practices with them. Older immigrants
from the former Soviet Union use a variety of complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM) remedies which includes in part: 1) foods to
which medicinal properties are attributed, 2) herbs, 3) external
treatments, and 4) pharmaceuticals manufactured in the former Soviet
Union and available over-the-counter. These remedies vary in their
efficacy and are often used in combination with or in lieu of prescribed
allopathic (Western) medications. Health beliefs regarding medicine in
the United States has led older Slavic immigrant to distrust their US
health care providers and system. Nurses are in a key position to
inquire and work with older Slavic immigrants to safely use their CAM
and provide more information about prescribed allopathic medications and
the harmful effects of combining remedies without consultation.
Keywords
- Older immigrants;
- CAM;
- Ethnomedicine;
- Former Soviet Union
