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The Social Meanings of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Elderly Chinese Immigrants’ Health Practice in the United States

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Abstract

We situate elderly Chinese immigrants’ utilization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in social contexts (e.g., family and social networks), exploring how TCM is used as a tool, a resource, and a product of meaning-construction in their everyday life. We conducted in in-depth interviews with 20 elderly Chinese immigrants in the United State, exploring the complexity of their understanding and practice of TCM. We used grounded theory to identify the set of meanings that are particular to elderly Chinese immigrants’ use of TCM as a part of their health practice. For our participants, TCM is not just a resource for illness management. Instead, incorporating TCM in their health practice allows them to: (a) perform and reaffirm their cultural identity as Chinese, (b) maintain their moral status and fulfill their social roles, and (c) pass down health knowledge and cultural heritage. Clinical implications were discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Eric M. Kramer for his feedback throughout all phases of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communications, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, USA

    Haiying Kong

  2. Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, 610 Elm Ave. #101, Norman, OK, USA

    Elaine Hsieh

Authors
  1. Haiying Kong
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  2. Elaine Hsieh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elaine Hsieh.

Additional information

An earlier version of the manuscript has received a top paper award at the 2011 annual meeting of National Communication Association (Communication and Aging Division).

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Kong, H., Hsieh, E. The Social Meanings of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Elderly Chinese Immigrants’ Health Practice in the United States. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 841–849 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9558-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9558-2

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