Self-referred self-care: The contributions of traditional chinese medicine to primary health care

Abstract

Biomedical recommendations on self-care tend towards (hetero-referred) preventive behavioral prescriptions. The incorporation of non-biomedical approaches such as Chinese medicine into the public health care system has not been enough to change perspectives on self-care in primary health care (PHC). In the face of the reduction of self-care in Chinese medicine in its diaspora to the West, the literature has discussed the potential for enhancing self-care by building on the practices of traditional Chinese medicine and its potential to contribute to the objectives of PHC. This essay draws on three sources: interviews with acupuncturists working in primary care services, autoethnography and an analysis of the literature. It is concluded that traditional Chinese medicine fosters (self-referred) self-knowledge, self-awareness and learning through its techniques or approach, potentiating actions designed to promote self-care in PHC.