Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Canada Backgrounder
Usage of Complementary/Alternative Therapies
- An estimated 42% of Canadians use alternative medicines and practices. Those more likely to report using these medicines and practices include:
- Females (46%, versus 39% of males)
- Canadians aged 35 to 54 (49%)
- More affluent Canadians (52% among those with annual household incomes of $60,000 or more)
- The overall use of alternative medicines and practices among all Canadians grew by 81% over the previous five years. The most significant growth in usage over this period was among Canadians aged 18 to 34 (34% versus 14%).
- 90% of respondents who reported using alternative medicines and practices in this poll indicated they were satisfied with what they had tried, and 80% considered that the therapies they had used were very or somewhat important to their health.
Source: CTV/Angus Reid Group poll, August 1997
- Canadians spent more than $1.8 billion out-of-pocket on visits to providers of alternative medicine. If the additional money spent on books, medical equipment, herbs, vitamins, and special diet programs is included, the estimated total out-of-pocket spending on alternative medicine in Canada increases to more than $3.8 billion in 1997.
Source: Alternative Medicine in Canada: Use and Public Attitudes, Frasier Institute, March 1999.
Complementary/Alternative Health Providers
- Between 1993 and 2003, there was a significant (two- to four-fold) increase in the proportion of Canadians using one or more of all types of complementary/alternative health providers.
- In 2003, 19% of Canadians reported visiting a naturopath, herbalist, acupuncturist, homeopath, Traditional Chinese Medicine provider and/or faith-spiritual healer over the previous six months (versus 6% in 1993). When chiropractors are included, this figure increases to 32% (versus 19% in 1993).
Source: The Berger Population Health Monitor with the Hay Health Care Consulting Group, 2003
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