Drawing on two years of ethnographic field research among the Navajos, this book explores a controversial Native American ritual and healthcare practice: ceremonial consumption of the psychedelic Peyote cactus in the context of an indigenous postcolonial healing movement called the Native American Church (NAC). The NAC arose in the nineteenth century in response to the creation of the reservation system and increasing societal ills, including alcoholism. The movement is the locus of a cultural conflict with a long history in North America and stirs very strong and often opposed emotions and...

Drawing on two years of ethnographic field research among the Navajos, this book explores a controversial Native American ritual and healthcare practice: ceremonial consumption of the psychedelic Peyote cactus in the context of an indigenous postcolonial healing movement called the Native American Church (NAC). The NAC arose in the nineteenth century in response to the creation of the reservation system and increasing societal ills, including alcoholism. The movement is the locus of a cultural conflict with a long history in North America and stirs very strong and often opposed emotions and...

Improving patient experience is a global priority for health policy-makers and care providers. The need to look at healthcare delivery through the eyes of patients is widely accepted, but how should it be done? What use can be made of this information, and what evidence is there that such exercises lead to better care? Understanding and Using Health Experiences: Improving patient care examines a broad range of different sources and techniques for gathering and analyzing health experiences. Providing an accessible and pragmatic overview of the diversity and richness of research in the field...