What could ′integrative′ medicine mean? Social science perspectives on contemporary Ayurveda
Open accessAbstract
The paper attempts to critically engage with the idea of integrative medicine as a marker of pharmaceuticalization of Ayurveda in the recent decades. It examines what it means to say 'integrative' medicine using the metaphor of language from philosophy of science. Drawing upon fieldwork with Ayurveda practitioners, the paper also discusses the ramifications of integrative medicine in the current scenario in which there is no organizational parity between Ayurveda and biomedicine. The paper calls for a focus on Ayurveda for public health rather than the global health market.
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For well over a decade, scholars of Indian medicine have called attention to the rising influence of evidence-based rhetoric in Indian policy discourse.
“For well over a decade, scholars of Indian medicine have called attention to the rising influence of evidence-based rhetoric in Indian policy discourse.”
From Indian Imaginaries of Chinese Success in the Global Herbal Medicine Market (2019) · cites this paper as Sujatha 2011
In “From Medical Pluralism to Integrative Medicine” (page unavailable), Sujatha describes a call for integrative medicine over the preceding decade and discusses government involvement in standardization and research. The paper also discusses evidence-based medicine in “Problems of Laboratory-Centered Medicine Versus Life-Centered Medicine,” but does not establish that evidence-based rhetoric was gaining influence in Indian policy discourse or that scholars had tracked this for well over a decade. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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Kaptchuk, T. J. (2003) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7404.1453 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Indian Imaginaries of Chinese Success in the Global Herbal Medicine Market
Kudlu, C., & Nichter, M. (2019) · Asian Medicine · doi:10.1163/15734218-12341437 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Of Shastric ‘Yogams’ and Polyherbals
Naraindas, H. (2014) · Asian Medicine · doi:10.1163/15734218-12341326 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Sujatha, V
- Affiliations
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Sujatha, V
- ORCID
- Sujatha, V
- Venue
- Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 115
- ISSN
- 0975-9476 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3193682
- OpenAlex
- W2016298815
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 5.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Traditional Chinese Medicine Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
- Keywords
- integrative medicine, Ayurveda, pharmaceuticalization, philosophy of science, metaphor, biomedicine
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