Side 9:
Compatibility example
A website should review CAM and conventional medicine in the same terms
Look for slanted advice [Image: Display picture of editorial on Depression website' URL: http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/Depression/dep_editorial.htm]
Speaker's Notes: The website does not claim that alternative treatments should be used to replace conventional medicine. One editorial written by Dr. Matthews (and it is clearly marked as an editorial opinion, not as fact) reads: "There has been tremendous progress made in the past years in understanding how the brain works. One of the outcomes of this research is that we now understand that depression may be due to the decreased activity of the serotenergic pathways in the brain. (This is called monoamine hypothesis.) Antidepressants work on these receptor sites. The problem is that they also work on other receptor sites leading to substantial side effects…. What all these means is that we have an arsenal of therapies that can be used as Complementary therapies to make the antidepressants more effective. In case of mild depression, these therapies may be used as a stand-alone treatment. If you are suffering from severe depression, you should contact your psychiatrist and get immediate treatment" (Matthews, 2010, Editorial)
Slide 10:
Common sense example [Image: A large number 5]
In your mind, rate the websites according to the 3 Cs
Use a 1-5 scale
Speaker's Notes: Overall, the Holistic Health website seems to be of average credibility, or a '5' on a scale of 1-10. On one hand, it is not a .gov or .edu website or published by a professional organization like the AMA. It also contains some grammatical errors and has an obvious bias in favor of alternative treatments. On the other hand, it is not designed to sell a particular product. It offers similar information about traditional drug treatments that are available at .gov sources. For example, the types of side effects listed for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants like Prozac include anxiety, rather than a list of extreme and rare side effects. Dr. Matthews notes "we have an arsenal of therapies that can be used...
Credibility and Reliability of Sources of CAM Information: The identification of the most suitable Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapy to help in treatment of the patient's symptoms is a process that is based on extensive research. The increased use of CAM therapy in the American health care system provides clinicians with a new responsibility of becoming informed regarding the suitability, safety, and effectiveness of various healing procedures that are largely
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