Table 5.

Faces of acupuncture consumerism identified in this study

Face of consumerism	Description
Consumer as smart [26] chooser	Makes an active and informed decision, selecting acupuncture from a number of other options and making an informed decision to access it in a specific setting. (Very rare in this study.)
Consumer as chooser*	Makes an active decision, selecting acupuncture from a number of other options.
Consumer as patient	An offer of acupuncture is accepted within the context of a therapeutic relationship.
Consumer as earnest explorer [25]*	Acupuncture is something new to be tried, amongst a universe of many possible therapies, in the context of an embodied need for treatment.
Consumer as pragmatist	Emphasises the likely effectiveness of acupuncture in a particular setting and the actual effectiveness of it once experienced.
Consumer as hedonist*	Uses a particular form of healthcare to experience its positive emotional effects (only seen as attributed to the private sector by NHS patients).
Consumer as victim [14]	Is vulnerable and requires protection from unscrupulous healthcare practitioners or providers who might defraud them or otherwise cause harm.
Consumer as citizen [14]	Whose choice to use private or public sector healthcare is made within the context of moral and social implications of private sector involvement in healthcare provision.

*Adapted from Gabriel and Lang [14]