Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Unit Code

01536

Department/Institution Offering Unit

Centre for Health and Society
School of Population Health
University of Melbourne
Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053 Australia

web: www.chs.unimelb.edu.au

Unit Points

Research Points: 75

Coursework Points: 25

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Contacts

Unit Coordinator/s:
Dr Alison Brookes
Centre for Health and Society
School of Population Health
University of Melbourne
Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053 Australia

tel: +61 3 8344 0826
fax: +61 3 8344 0824
email: abroo@unimelb.edu.au

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Overall Objectives

In this unit, students have an opportunity to conduct a research project related to Complementary and Alternative therapies, such as naturopathy, Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, and so on. The aim is not to scientifically investigate the effectiveness of alternative therapies, but rather to understand them as a medical system in a social context. Students have the opportunity to formulate their own research project in consultation with their supervisor. Students could investigate why people choose to use complementary medicines, to what extent they use both western and traditional medicines, how western-trained doctors incorporate complementary therapies into their own practice, and so on. As part of this unit, students would usually have the opportunity to sit in with a practising naturopath (or other alternative practitioner if that can be organised) during patient consultations, in order to gain a better understanding of how complementary therapies are practised.

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Content

Coursework: This unit involves 2 coursework subjects:
1. Qualitative Health Research 2. Another subject as recommended by the supervisor. This will usually be Research Practicum, but can be another subject, if more relevant.

Research: Research projects in this unit will generally be small qualitative projects, which would typically involve interviews, and/or structured observation. Textual analysis and media analysis are also possible modes of investigation. All research projects involve reading of the relevant academic literature which forms the background to the field of inquiry.

Sample Research Topics:

1. Why do young people choose to use complementary and alternative therapies?
2. How do naturopaths and GPs understand and interact with each other?
3. Oncologists views on use of natural remedies by cancer patients.
4. What would make a person who uses herbal medicines go to a biomedical doctor?

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Assessment Breakdown

Research Component: 75 points
Research Report (up to 8-10,000 words): 85%
February work-in-progress Oral presentation: 15%

Coursework Component: 25 points
The coursework component is assessed by written assignments totally approximately 4000 words per subject. Details are provided in the individual subject descriptions. For Qualitative Health Research and Research Practicum, the assessment tasks relate to the students' own research projects.

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Student Numbers

Number of places available:
3