'Gentle caring experience'. Seeking alternative health care in Canada.

The starting point for this paper is a review of the literature, which seeks to explain the use of alternative medicines, therapies and practices in developed countries. Using the Statistics Canada 1996-97 National Population Health Survey--Health File, we then examine the profile of alternative service users. Our analysis shows that use of alternative health care is still limited to a relatively small segment of Canadians whose profile is similar to those in other developed countries. Women are more likely than men to use alternative medicines, therapies and practices, as are those who have higher incomes and are better educated. To move what has been an essentially empirical discussion forward, we explore critiques of conventional medical practice and propose that the analysis of alternative health care be situated within the geographies of consumption.