Integrating AYUSH into India's healthcare system: Context, opportunities and challenges

Integrating AYUSH into India's healthcare system: Context, opportunities and challenges

In India, there are efforts to diversify the public health system by combining traditional healing methods such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and homeopathy (all known collectively as AYUSH) with modern medical care. This is a significant shift in health policy that creates new opportunities to explore collaboration between conventional medical approaches and alternative healing methods. The goal is to create a healthcare system that accepts and integrates multiple medical traditions side by side.

The implementation of this policy depends heavily on local circumstances, be it social beliefs or political frameworks, which influence how this innovative approach is put into practice. A qualitative case study examined how different circumstances influence integration and the scope practitioners have in this context.

The results of the study indicate that existing administrative structures in health administration and facilities as well as lack of resources and capacity make access to AYUSH medicines difficult. However, at the community level, the acceptance of traditional methods in rural areas facilitates integration into formal health care. In addition, professional organizations and the media play a crucial role in holding health services accountable and supporting the inclusive process.

Interestingly, the study also shows how AYUSH doctors navigate within the existing hierarchies of the healthcare system, despite gaps in knowledge about the system and the predominance of modern medicine.

Possible future developments:

If the integration of AYUSH into the formal healthcare system progresses successfully, this could lead to wider acceptance and a greater range of complementary treatments. This could make healthcare in India more diverse and accessible, especially in rural areas where traditional healing methods are already popular. Furthermore, effective interaction between the various systems could improve the quality of care and patient satisfaction.

Basic terms and concepts:

• AYUSH: Ein Akronym, das für Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha und Homöopathie steht.
• Integration: Der Prozess, traditionelle Heilmethoden in die moderne medizinische Versorgung zu integrieren.
• Biomedizin: Die konventionelle westliche Medizin, die auf wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen basiert.
• Komplementär- und Alternativmedizin: Medizinische Ansätze, die zusätzlich oder als Alternative zur konventionellen Medizin angewandt werden.
• Gesundheitssystem-Hierarchien: Strukturelle Schichten innerhalb eines Gesundheitssystems, die Macht und Entscheidungsbefugnisse prägen.

Integrating AYUSH into India's healthcare system: Contextual influences and challenges

This research study examines the integration of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) into India's public healthcare system, focusing on the complex interactions with conventional biomedical care and the contextual influences that shape this process.

Important contextual influences

• Verwaltung und Gesundheitseinrichtungen: Vorhandene Verwaltungssysteme sowie Ressourcen- und Kapazitätsmängel begrenzen den Zugang zu AYUSH-Medikamenten und die Kooperationsmöglichkeiten zwischen biomedizinischen und AYUSH-Ärzten.
• Kommunale und gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz: In ländlichen Bereichen wird AYUSH verstärkt akzeptiert, was die Integration in die formale Gesundheitsversorgung erleichtert. Professionelle Organisationen und Medien spielen eine unterstützende Rolle bei der Rechenschaftspflicht der Gesundheitsdienste.

Practitioners' Agency

The study shows that AYUSH practitioners navigate the hierarchies of the healthcare system within these contextual influences. They face challenges regarding system knowledge against the background of medical dominance in the system.

Conflicts and synergies

The implementation of an integrative health policy is closely linked to the specific local, social and political contexts that significantly influence the impact of the interventions. Despite the challenges, integration offers opportunities for synergies between conventional and complementary medicine.

The results of this case study provide valuable insights into the practical implementation of health policy in pluralistic systems. The integration of AYUSH can serve as a model for other countries pursuing similar integrative approaches. Detailed results and discussions can be found in the full study at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37222411