Alternative medicine among teens tied to wealth

June 8, 2006

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/10/24/1276283-sun.html

2-tier care for the richAlternative medicine among teens tied to wealthBy SHARON LEM, TORONTO SUN

Teens from wealthy, educated families are more likely to usealternative medicine, a new study finds.

The study raises concerns that a two-tier system is developing foreven the youngest in society.

The study also reports that the location of a person's residenceinfluences the use of complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments,such as massage therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy/naturopathy andchiropractic.

The study says 5% of Canadian teens visited a CAM practitioner in2000-2001, with girls outnumbering boys by more than 2:1.

The study found back problems (17%) and disabilities (9%) were themost common reasons for seeking CAM use, followed by asthma andallergies (7%).

TOP EARNERS

The study found 74% of CAM users come from families with householdincomes in the top two income earners.

"We don't like to think Canada has a two-tiered health system, yetthis is clearly a service which is more accessible to those who havethe resources to pay for it than those who don't," said lead authorDr. Mary Ann McColl, director of the Centre for Health Services andPolicy Research at Queen's University.

CAM use was highest in the West (6% in British Columbia and Alberta)and lowest in the Atlantic provinces at 2.3% and the North (2.9%).

Alberta and British Columbia partially cover alternative treatmentsunder provincial health insurance, making such services moreattractive, McColl said.

The study analyzes data collected by Statistics Canada as part of theCanadian Community Health Survey in 2000-2001.