Complementary and Alternative Health Care and the Home Care Population

As the use of complementary and alternative medicine has steadily risen over recent years, it is safe to assume a significant portion of the home care population has or is using health treatment modalities outside of the conventional Western medical model. The authors provide an overview of complementary and alternative medicine and three modalities commonly encountered and occasionally practiced by nurses and other licensed health care professionals: acupuncture, Reiki, and botanical healing.