1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910796952103321

Autore

Guo Zibin <1961->

Titolo

Ginseng and aspirin : health care alternatives for aging Chinese in New York / / Zibin Guo

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, N.Y. : , : Cornell University Press, , [2000]

©2000

ISBN

1-5017-2171-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 173 p. )

Collana

Anthropology of contemporary issues

Disciplina

362.1

Soggetti

Transcultural medical care

Minority older people

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I. Elderly Chinese Immigrants in Flushing -- 1. Setting the Stage -- 2. Chinese Americans in the United States - A Population of Diversity -- 3. The Research Site -- 4. Fieldwork in Flushing -- Part II. Health Care Concepts and Resources -- 5. Aging, Migration, and Health -- 6. Traditional Chinese Medicine -- 7. Health Care in Modern China and Taiwan -- 8. Health Care Resources in Flushing -- Part III. Aging and Health among the Chinese Elderly -- 9. Concepts of Aging -- 10. Big and Small Problems -- 11. Self-Care and Home Remedies -- 12. Health Care Decisions -- 13. Using the U.S. Health Care System -- 14. Conclusion -- References -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Navigating the maze of modern American health care is rarely easy; those who enter it are confronted with a dizzying array of specialists, practitioners, and clinics from which to choose, and are forced to make decisions regarding drugs and treatments about which they may know very little. For immigrants, finding their way can be difficult-especially for those to whom Western medicine is itself unfamiliar.In this engaging, accessible, and detail-rich book, Zibin Guo narrates elderly Chinese immigrants' response to contemporary American medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes self-care and the medicinal value of foods and herbs; American doctors' responses to the ailments of their Chinese patients can seem impersonal and unnecessarily



interventionist. Distrust, expense, and problems of communication and interpretation often frustrate both patient and practitioner.Guo paints a picture of a population that, despite its outward appearance of homogeneity, demonstrates a surprisingly wide variety of health-care knowledge, practice, and belief. Using case materials and interviews, he analyzes the blend of folk treatments and respect for Western science that coexist in the health care regimens of these elderly Chinese immigrants.