Abstract
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.
Résumé
De nombreux travaux de recherche sur la médecine parallèle cherchent à expliquer pourquoi les gens ont recours à des pratiques que la médecine officielle rejettent pour cause d’inefficacité: c’est ce que l’on désigne par médecine douce rejetée. Toutefois, pour étudier un échantillon suffisamment représentatif au plan statistique, de nombreuses études incluent certains soins de santé parallèles, comme ceux de la chiropraxie ou de l’acupuncture que la plupart des médecins considèrent comme efficaces dans des cas limités: c’est ce que l’on désigne par médecine douce acceptée. L’Enquête nationale sur la santé de la population de 1994–1995 montre que les Canadiens qui font appel à des praticiens de la médecine douce rejetée par la médecine officielle en comparaison avec les Canadiens qui ont recours à la médecine douce acceptée disposent des mêmes revenus financiers, sont plus instruits, souffrent d’un peu moins de maladies chroniques et en général prennent légèrement mieux soin de leur santé. Pour les deux groupes, les soins de la médecine parallèle ne remplacent pas les soins de la médecine officielle mais les complètent. Deux grandes différences apparaissent: ce n’est pas une légère majorité mais deux fois plus de femmes que d’hommes qui recourent à ces soins, et l’usage est le plus répandu au Québec par opposition à l’ouest du Canada.
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