UNDERSTAND THE EMBODIED CONCEPT OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE VIA PRACTITIONER-PATIENT INTERACTIONS AS CULTURALLY SPECIFIC CONSTRUCTS.

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) focusses on how the body works as a whole, with illness being explained by the balance of qi, yin-yang, and meridian systems. This study examines the influence of practitioner–patient interactions on culturally specific interpretations of embodied concepts, emphasising quantifiable patterns in communication, trust, and patient comprehension. Variables encompassed practitioner communication (including verbal and non-verbal tactics), patient cultural orientation, and the consequent level of patient acceptance and trust. We used statistical methods including regression modelling and correlation testing to find out how practitioner-patient interactions affect how people think about illness in their bodies. The results indicate that the communication style of practitioners had a substantial impact on patients’ embodied comprehension, with metaphorical explanations and non-verbal techniques (such as pulse-taking and acupuncture demonstrations) showing a positive correlation with increased trust and acceptance. Cultural attitudes also affected how strong these connections were. Patients who were more traditional were more likely to agree with embodied TCM ideas. On the other hand, patients with strong biomedical tendencies showed less embodiment, but the effects were less powerful when the context of the contact was taken into account. The research underscores the significance of employing quantitative instruments to elucidate cultural embodiment in medical interactions. It concludes that practitioner–patient interactions in TCM are not only exchanges of information but serve as cultural constructs that influence embodied experience and perpetuate conventional knowledge. These findings enhance the fields of medical anthropology and health communication research by illustrating the persistence of cultural health frameworks in contemporary clinical practice.