Digital Commons Network^™

Gaining Insight Into The Meaning Of Complementary/Alternative Healing Among Chronically Ill Individuals, Anwesa Chatterjee

Open Access Dissertations

Through this project I attempt to understand the meaning and experience of using complementary/alternative healing among chronically ill individuals. A chronic illness/condition typically generates some disturbance in people. In the context of this turmoil, some individuals might make a choice to use healing options outside of regular allopathic medicine. I interviewed 16 women and 5 men with varied chronic illnesses/conditions to understand their meaning and experience with complementary/alternative healing. I approached the project from a symbolic interactionist standpoint and used grounded theory methodology to collect and analyze data. In the context of exploring the main research question several sub-questions emerged …