In a news report by News18, an India based news channel, Kumar (2018) communicated that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, flew out to England to meet with British Prime Minster, Theresa May. Among their topics of discussion, which included the need for technological and health advancements, was Ayurvedic medicine. Prime Minister May and Modi effectuated a plan to advance Ayurvedic practice in the UK by creating the Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence. This facility serves as a learning center that will educate curious minds in the practice of ayurvedic medicine. The center will also emphasize on the importance of conducting clinical trials to create a wider library of empirical based evidence for Ayurveda since there is a consensus on a lack of such material. The Ayurvedic Centre was awaited with great expectations by being labeled as a “first-of-its-kind global network for evidence-based research on Ayurveda” (Kumar, 2018). With hopes of expanding research and knowledge on Ayurvedic medicine, the UK then plans to integrate it with conventional medicine as a form of complementary medicine.

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In relation to my experience with Ayurveda while in Mysore, I have come to notice how prevalent Ayurveda is in this region, with just 6 Ayurvedic centers within a 2-mile radius of my location. However, a sense of doubt in its effectiveness for certain conditions seems to prevail among those of higher education in health-related fields due to the lack of empirical evidence. This notion of mistrust among those of higher education in addition to my prior interest in determining how common Ayurveda is used as primary choice of care or as a supplement to conventional medicine in India, intrigued me into further exploring how other countries perceive Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), such as Ayurveda. Along with if these views differed among health care professionals and the general public.

A systemic review by Frass, Strassl, Friehs, Müllner, Kundi & Kaye (2012), looked to determine the use and acceptance of CAM among medical personnel and the general public within the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, the UK and South Korea. The authors found that educated, middle aged women were more likely to use CAM and that medical students were less credulous towards it, among other students in varying medical professions. Nonetheless, an overall positive perception does exist within medical professionals as long as there was empirical evidence supporting the medical medium and they had prior knowledge about it. Kavita, Smita, Ganesh, Sonali, Chaitali and Ayudh (2015), also aimed to determine the acceptance and awareness of CAM, among patients of a tertiary care hospital in India. It was found that female patients over 40 years of age, felt CAM was more effective than conventional medicine and safer due to less side-effects.

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Overall, there is not much difference in perception among health care professionals and the general population as both articles note acceptance, more so for middle aged female (Frass et al., 2012; Kavita et al., 2015). Differences noted between medical personnel and the general public is that medical professionals accept CAM as long as it is backed by empirical evidence (Frass et al., 2012). But this may be due to the fact that the study did not ask non-medical personnel whether their use and acceptance of CAM was influenced by research.

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Although both articles convey a sense of acceptance towards CAM, the way in which others may view the news article by Kumar may differ in terms of their prior knowledge, beliefs and exposure towards Ayurveda or other CAM approaches. High acceptance and positive perception was noted by the population in Kavita et al. (2015), however this may be because in India, Ayurveda is already integrated into its healthcare system. According to Dr. Praveen Kulkarni, professor of preventative medicine, when a person steps into a care center in India, he or she may choose an allopathic physician or an ayurvedic physician. Therefore, Ayurveda’s cultural acceptance influences peoples use and perception. Whereas in other countries, where Ayurveda or CAM is less known patients and physicians may hesitate in use and acceptance.

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As mentioned before, on how prior knowledge, beliefs and exposure to Ayurveda affects the perception of the news article, my reaction towards it is gratifying due to the fact that it is a topic I would like to learn more about. With the opening of the Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence in the UK, efforts are being made to prove the effectiveness of Ayurveda. In addition to more research, this center can address the concerns mentioned in my pre-departure critique, regarding negative perception towards Ayurveda by prompting more awareness since a wider audience will be exposed to it, and lack of preparedness in students due to inadequate education by hopefully allowing the UK and India to work together in creating international standards within the curriculum that would prepare students to deal with all aspects of being an ayurvedic practitioner.  

 

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