Gullible fools or desperate pragmatists? A profile of people who use rejected alternative health care providers.

Much research on alternative medicine seeks to discover why people use practices which orthodox medicine rejects as ineffective: rejected alternative medicine. However, to obtain a sample large enough for statistical analysis, many studies include as alternative health care, practices such as chiropractic or acupuncture which most doctors accept as effective for limited purposes: accepted alternative medicine. The 1994-95 National Population Health Survey shows Canadians who consult rejected alternative health care providers compared with those who consult accepted health care providers have similar incomes, more education, slightly fewer chronic diseases and slightly more good health habits. For both groups, alternative health care supplements orthodox health care rather than being an alternative to it. Two major differences emerge: women outnumber men more than two to one as opposed to being only a slight majority, and usage peaks in Quebec, not Western Canada.