Holistic health options for women

Women have played pivotal roles in maintaining health over the millennia. Their health care practices always have been aligned with natural therapies. It is generally accepted that women use and are more open to complementary therapies than men. Yet, there are still many obstacles to address before complementary therapies gain a broader base of support, particularly among the medical community. Although research is currently in progress, definitive evidence is still lacking regarding which holistic modality (or combination of modalities) is effective for certain conditions. The public and health provider alike need to know the safety profile of each considered modality. The use and acceptance of complementary therapies are increasing exponentially with the general public. These therapies are adjuncts and not substitutes for traditional care. Nonetheless, holistic modalities are the cornerstones of health care in the future. Nurses are uniquely positioned to enhance the quality of their nursing care by improving their understanding of and beginning to incorporate more complementary healing therapies into their nursing care, regardless of their personal beliefs and values. Therefore, holistic nursing principles must be more broadly espoused by individual nurses and nurse educators so that the transpersonal/caring/healing philosophy advocated by Florence Nightingale will ripple outward from the nurse to the patient and back to the nursing profession in general.