Complimentary and Alternative Therapies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Complimentary and Alternative Therapies - Essay Example This hospital network was expanded, reworked and merged with the intention of providing a single District Hospital supporting local GP's and in turn being supported by teaching and specialist hospitals. These District Hospitals have 500 to 800 beds and operate at 90% capacity. (nhshistory.com). The availability of CAM in the organised NHS is very little. In fact CAM is hardly reimbursed under the NHS network. Most CAM services were provided by private practitioners - the majority were in the home counties and the Midlands; Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and East Anglia had the least. (Dixon et al 2003) Several studies and enquiries show that the use of CAM in the UK has been on the increase. But comparisons should be made with caution, because of the differences in the definition of the term. (House of Lords Report ch1) A telephonic random survey of 1204 persons conducted by the BBC in 1999, revealed that 20% of the respondents had used CAM in the preceding 12 months. Of these the favoured therapies in their order of importance were herbal remedies (34%), Aromatherapy (21%), Homeopathy (17%) and Acupressure/ Acupuncture (14%) (House of Lords Report ch1) A Report prepared by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1999 found that retail sales of complementary medicine preparations came to 93m in 1998. (House of Lords Report ch 1) In Europe, both UK and Germany are countries, ... her European countries (Guillod, 1999)."(Dixon et al 2003) This is in contrast with France, Spain and Belgium, "where the medical profession has maintained its monopoly over medical practice and where the activities of non-medically qualified CAM practitioners are illegal." (Dixon et al 2003) In the US too, a telephonic survey indicated that from 1900 to 1997, there was a noticeable increase in the already existing use of CAM. Out-of-pocket expenditure (paid for by patients, and not reimbursed) on this was estimated at $27.0 billion in 1997. (House of Lords Report ch1) What are the reasons for people shifting to CAM The possible reasons for using CAM is the need for people to have control over their own health, a philosophical and spiritual orientation, and a belief in the mind-body connection. It was found (in the US) that people of higher educational status tended to CAM. (House of Lords Report ch 1) This could probably be that those who had access to literature on the subject, and had an enquiring mind would use this to a greater extent. Another reason could be that conventional medicine is reimbursed, and not CAM. Presuming that better educated people had higher incomes, this would explain why CAM was (is) favoured by higher income groups as opposed to the lower. Apart from this, sufferers from chronic health problems such as anxiety, back problems, urinary tract problems and chronic pain used CAM. From this it may be deduced that conventional medicine had not provided a complete 'cure' for these problems. Another reason cited for the increase d use of CAM is that it had become fashionable, and also due to the increasing interest in the paranormal (astrology and the like). More social mixing (immigrants from Asian and African countries) resulting in interest

International marketing planning (Opening Wal-mart in Saudi Arabia) Essay

International marketing planning (Opening Wal-mart in Saudi Arabia) - Essay Example (Aruvian, 2013). Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operates retail stores worldwide under the brand name Walmart. It is a company based out of Bentonville, Arkansas, USA. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has three sections: Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. (Aruvian, 2013). In the business end of scheme, it has operations for â€Å"retail stores, restaurants, discount stores, supermarkets, supercenters, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, apparel stores, Sam’s Clubs, neighborhood markets, and other small formats, as well as walmart.com; and samsclub.com.† (Aruvian, 2013) The company is engaged in selling products such as â€Å"meat, produce, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and floral and dry grocery; health and beauty aids, baby products, household chemicals, paper goods, and pet supplies; and electronics, toys, cameras and supplies, photo processing services, cellular phones, cellular service plan contracts and prepaid service, movies , music, video games, and books. Its stores also provide stationery, automotive accessories, hardware and paint, sporting goods, fabrics and crafts, and countless other products. Further, it operates banks that provide consumer financing programs; and offers financial services and related products, including money orders, prepaid cards, wire transfers, check cashing, and bill payment.† (Aruvian, 2013) The demographics and domestic demand in Saudi Arabia encourages Retail Markets. However, it is subject to similar issues that face the retail sector globally and the market is qualified with its own set of unique situations. (David Macadam and Soraka Al-Khatib n.d) Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest and rapidly growing markets in the retail sector across the Middle East and North African Countries (MENA). (David Macadam and Soraka Al-Khatib n.d). The Nation has a strong youth population which is quissentially the target market for big Retail Stores such