ABSTRACT
In most societies people suffering from physical discomfort or emotional distress have a number of ways of helping themselves, or of seeking help from other people. They may, for example, decide to rest or take a home remedy, ask advice from a friend, relative or neighbour, consult a local priest, folk healer or ‘wise person’, or consult a doctor, provided that one is available. They may follow all of these steps, or perhaps only one or two of them, and may follow them in any order. The larger and more complex the society in which the person is living, the more of these therapeutic options are likely to be available, provided that the individual can afford to pay for them. Modern urbanized societies, whether Western or non-Western, are more likely, therefore, to exhibit health-care pluralism. Within these societies there are many people or individuals, each offering the patient their own particular way of explaining, diagnosing and treating ill health. Though these therapeutic modes coexist, they are often based on entirely different premises and may even originate in different cultures, such as Western medicine in China, or Chinese acupuncture in the modern Western world. To the ill person, however, the origin of these treatments is less important than their efficacy in relieving suffering.
