https://www.google.ca/search?q=russia+%22traditional+medicine%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=kUuQVsKEM4T8jwP63q_QDw#&psj=1
Russian Traditional Medicine
The Effect of Russian Traditional Medicine on the Health Care of Russian Immigrants to America
By
Roy Long
AN HONORS THESIS
for the
UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE
Submitted to the
University Honors College
at Texas Tech University in
partial fulfillment of the
requirement for
the degree designation of
HIGHEST HONORS
MAY 2011
Approved by:
_____________________________________ ____________
DR. ANTHONY QUALIN Date
Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures
_____________________________________ ____________
DR. MARJEAN D. PURINTON Date
Associate Dean, University Honors College
ABSTRACT
Russian immigrants to the United States have a higher incidence of many chronic and debilitating illnesses. A number of social scientists have argued that the causes of ill health are a result of multiple factors including language proficiency, country of origin and time elapsed since immigration. In this thesis, Russian Traditional Medicine, a system of beliefs held by many from Slavic-language speaking countries, is examined as a potential contributor to ill health in a Russian-speaking community in Glendale, Colorado. Interviews with physicians, pharmacists, naturopathic doctors, Russian pharmacy employees and grocery store owners were conducted to determine their perceptions of Russian health trends in the area. It was determined that Russian Traditional Medicine is manifested among members of the community and that these trends have an effect on the willingness of Russian speaking immigrants to participate in the health care system of the United States of America. Russian Traditional Medicine often was linked with a distrust of Western medicine and sometimes, a distrust of physicians in general. In addition, I investigated remedies used by Russian speaking members of the community and formulated suggestions to improve health care delivery for Russian-speaking immigrants.
