{"id":254835,"date":"2023-08-04T20:21:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T14:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=254835"},"modified":"2023-08-29T18:24:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T12:54:34","slug":"india-needs-evidence-based-ethics-driven-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-needs-evidence-based-ethics-driven-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"India needs evidence-based, ethics-driven medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cIndia needs evidence-based, ethics-driven medicine\u201d <\/strong>published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d <\/strong>on 4th August 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS3- Science and Technology<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> Issues related to taditional system of medicine<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– \u00a0Supporters of Hameopathy have argued in The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Southeast Asia<\/em> recently for expanding its use by citing demand and decolonisation, disregarding its flaws.<\/p>\n

What are issues related to safety and efficacy of Homeopathy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The evidence supporting the efficacy<\/strong> of homoeopathy is lacking in strength.<\/p>\n

The initial double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT)<\/strong>, conducted and well-documented is known as the Nuremberg Salt Test (1835).<\/strong><\/p>\n

It concluded that the symptoms or changes attributed to the effects of homoeopathic medicines were merely products of imagination and preconceived notions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Multiple systematic reviews have consistently found that homoeopathic treatments lack clinically significant effects<\/strong> across different ailments, population groups, study types.<\/p>\n

Recently, researchers discovered that over half of the 193 homeopathic trials <\/strong>conducted in the last two decades were not registered.<\/p>\n

Unregistered trials<\/strong> displayed some evidence of efficacy, <\/strong>but registered trials did not. It cast doubt on the validity and reliability<\/strong> of the evidence.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization\u00a0 has issued warnings against homoeopathic treatments <\/strong>for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, flu, and infant diarrhea. It has asserted that it has no place in their treatment protocols.<\/p>\n

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that homoeopathy does not effectively treat cancers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On the contrary, homoeopathic treatments have been linked to both non-fatal and fatal adverse event<\/strong>s, and exacerbation of existing conditions.<\/p>\n

What are issues related to standards used in evidence-based medicine for judging the effects of homoeopathy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Supporters of homoeopathy argue that the standards <\/strong>commonly used in evidence-based medicine<\/strong> are not appropriate for evaluating its “holistic effects.<\/strong>” However, this claim can be refuted for several reasons.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The standards used in evidence-based medicine<\/strong> are not arbitrary choices<\/strong> made by allopathic practitioners for their own benefit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    They are established through collaboration among a global communit<\/strong>y that includes epidemiologists, biostatisticians, quality improvement researchers, implementation managers, and others.<\/p>\n

    Various disciplines<\/strong> outside of medicine, such as psychology, economics, community health, implementation science, and public policy, have successfully adapted evidence synthesis methods<\/strong> to support their claims.<\/p>\n

    On the other hand, proponents of homoeopathy have not been able to develop valid alternative evidence synthesis frameworks <\/strong>to test its efficacy and safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The argument that evidence-based medicine<\/strong> is “reductionist” <\/strong>and cannot accommodate holistic approaches is not entirely accurate.<\/li>\n
    2. Evidence-based medicin<\/strong>e does not solely focus on establishing empirical evidence<\/strong>. It also seeks to explain the underlying mechanisms<\/strong> that support the evidence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      However, over the past century, there has been no substantial evidence<\/strong> to explain the proposed mechanisms of action<\/strong> for homoeopathy.<\/p>\n

      There is an argument that a pluralistic approach<\/strong> in medicine can help to decolonize medicine. <\/strong><\/p>\n

      However, homoeopathy’s introduction in India was during the colonial period. It raises questions about its traditional tag<\/strong>, as it was brought in during colonial times for colonial benefits.<\/p>\n

      Some homoeopathy supporters offer testimonials from prominent figures<\/strong> like Gandhi and Tagore<\/strong>. However, there is limited mention<\/strong> of homoeopathy in Gandhi’s writings. There is no evidence that Tagore favoured it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Source– The post is based on the article \u201cIndia needs evidence-based, ethics-driven medicine\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 4th August 2023. Syllabus: GS3- Science and Technology Relevance: Issues related to taditional system of medicine News– \u00a0Supporters of Hameopathy have argued in The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Southeast Asia recently for expanding its use by citing… Continue reading India needs evidence-based, ethics-driven medicine<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[216,242],"class_list":["post-254835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-science-and-technology","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}