Postmodern values,dissatisfaction with conventional medicine and popularity of alternative therapies

Abstract

This article reviews three competing hypotheses that address the reasons people turn to alternative medicine. According to the medical outcome hypothesis, the reason is dissatisfaction with the health outcomes of conventional medicine. According to the medical encounter hypothesis, the reason is dissatisfaction with the doctor-patient interaction patterns. According to the postmodern hypothesis, the reason is the recent emergence of a new value system that is congruent with the philosophical underpinnings of alternative medicine. Multivariate analyses of results based on a random sample of individuals support the medical encounter and postmodern hypothe ses and show that the set of postmodern values, in comparison to dissatisfaction with the medical encounter, is by far a better predictor of attitudes towards alternative medicine. Future research possibilities are discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aakster, C. (1989) 'Assumptions Governing Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment' Social Science Medicine 29(3): 293-300.

Anyinam, C. (1990) 'Alternative Medicine in Western Industrialized Countries: An Agenda for Medical Geography' The Canadian Geographer 34(1): 69-76.

Bakx, K. (1991) 'The Eclipse of Folk Medicine in Western Society ' Sociology of Healtb and Illness 13(1): 20-38.

Carroll, D. (1994) 'Self Help and the New Health Agenda' Social Policy 24(13): 44-52.

Cassileth, B. (1989) 'The Social Implications of Questionable Cancer Therapies' Cancer 63(April): 1247-1250.

Coward, R. (1989) The Whole Truth: The Myth of Alternative Medicine London: Faber and Faber.

Czaja, R. and J. Blair (1996) Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures Newbury Park: Sage.

Easthope, G. (1993) 'The Response of Orthodox Medicine to the Challenge of Alternative Medicine in Australia' Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology 29(3): 289-301.

Furnham, A. and J. Forey (1994) 'The Attitudes, Behaviours and Beliefs of Patients of Conventional vs Complementary (Alternative) Medicine' Journal of Clinical Psychology 50(May): 458-69.

10.

Furnham, A. and C. Smith (1988) 'Choosing Alternative Medicine: A Comparison of the Beliefs of Patients Visiting a General Practitioner and a Homeopath' Science Medicine 26(7): 685-89.

11.

Holden, C. (1978) 'Holistic Health Concepts Gaining Momentum' Science 200: 1029.

12.

Ingliss, B. and R. West (1983) The Alternative Health Guide London: Michael Joseph.

13.

Kish, L. (1995) Survey Sampling New York: John Wiley & Sons.

14.

Kurz, P. (1994) 'The Growth of Antiscience' Skeptical Inquirer 18(3): 225-63.

15.

Lavrakas, P. (1993) Telephone Survey Methods: Sampling, Selection and Supervision Newbury Park: Sage.

16.

Nicholson, R. (1993) 'Postmodernism' Science 261(July 9): 143.

17.

O'Rourke, D. and J. Blair (1983) 'Improving Random Respondent Selection in Telephone Surveys' Journal of Marketing Research 20: 428-32.

18.

Park, R. (1996) 'Is There a Rebellion Against Scientific Knowledge ?' USA Today 125( 2614): 48-53.

19.

Parker, G. and H. Tupling (1977) 'Consumer Evaluation of Natural Therapists and General Practitioners' The Medical Journal of Australia 1: 619-22.

20.

Riessman, F. (1994) 'Alternative Health Movements' Social Policy 24(3): 53-57.

21.

Salmon, C. and J. Nichols (1983) 'The Next-birthday Method for Respondent Selection ' Public Quarterly 47: 270-76.

22.

Salmon, W. (1984) (ed.) Alternative Medicines: Popular and Policy Perspectives New York: Tavistock .

23.

Sharma, U. (1990) 'Using Alternative Therapies: Marginal Medicine and Central Encounters' in P. Abott and G. Payne New Directions in the Sociology of Health London: Falmer Press: 127-39.

24.

Sharma, U. (1992) Complementary Medicine Today: Practitioners and Patients London: Tavistock/Routledge .

25.

Taylor, R. (1984) 'Alternative Medicine and the Medical Encounter in Britain and the United States' in W. Salmon (ed.) Alternative Medicines: Popular and Policy Perspectives New York: Tavistock: 191-228.

26.

Yates, P. , G. Beadle , A. Clavarino , J. Najman , K. Thomson , G. Williams , L. Kenny , S. Roberts , B. Mason and D. Schlect (1993) 'Patients With Terminal Cancer Who Use Alternative Therapies: Their Beliefs and Practices' Sociology of Health and Illness 15(2): 199-216.