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Explaining the growth of complementary and alternative medicine
Ian Coulter
Evan Willis
School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University, VIC
Abstract
In this analytic review, the authors consider the ‘boom’ in demand for the services of practitioners of modalities of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The evidence for the increase in demand for these services is reviewed and explanations for this phenomenon considered and evaluated. Two particular explanations are considered: the postmodern thesis and the gendered spirituality thesis, as well as more general changes in society. Finally the paper considers the role of the social sciences in the legitimation and increasing use of CAM. The paper concludes that the trend is likely to continue, as will the role of social scientists in observing and documenting CAM.Keywords
sociology, complementary medicine, alternative medicine
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