Lesson 1.1 Who Uses Natural Health?

Question 1

What percentage of Canadians access natural health practices?

Answer 1

As of 2006, 54 percent of Canadians reported they had consulted a practitioner of some form of alternative or complementary care.

Question 2

Name the five most frequently consulted alternative medicine practices.

Answer 2

The five most frequently used alternative health treatments were chiropractic (40 percent), massage (35 percent), relaxation techniques (20 percent), prayer/spiritual practice (18 percent), and acupuncture (17 percent). Naturopaths, homeopaths, osteopaths, and herbalists were also seen by Canadians—all categories were consulted 8.6 times a year on average in 2005.

Question 3

What fraction of the American public apply complementary medicine?

Answer 3

In the United States, some surveys show that as many as two-thirds of Americans are using some form of complementary or alternative medical care (often called CAM)

Question 4

What does CAM stand for?

Answer 4

In the USA, complementary or alternative medical care (often called CAM)

Question 5

Name the rate of expenditures for CAM in the USA.

Answer 5

During the period from 1990 to 1997 alone, expenditure on CAM rose from US $13 billion to $38 billion annually. Between 1997 and 2002, more than one in three Americans, representing about 72 million US adults, reported using CAM within the prior 12-month span.