Originally published October 17 2005
Canadian adolescents search for alternative treatments to chronic pain
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Funded by the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, a study at Queen's University utilized the information gathered by Statistics Canada in 2000-2001 and found that nearly five percent of Canadian adolescents had visited a complementary or alternative medicine practitioner.
Aching backs and chronic pain are the most common reasons for Canadian adolescents to seek complementary or alternative medical treatment.
And there's a wide disparity - both in where they live and their family income - between young people who use alternative treatments and those who don't.
These are two of the findings from a new Queen's University study into the use by Canadian youth of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which includes massage therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy and naturopathy.
"We don't like to think Canada has a two-tiered health system, yet this is clearly a service which is more accessible to those who have the resources to pay for it than those who don't," says lead investigator Dr. Mary Ann McColl of Queen's Centre for Health Services and Policy Research.
"In the desperate situation these families may find themselves - having a child in pain, with persistent problems - the availability of options is different for well-off kids than it is for poorer kids."
Also on the team are Alison James (Centre for Health Services and Policy Research), Diane Davies (Canadian Adolescents at Risk Research Network), Michelle Garieri (Kingston Wellness Centre) and research analyst Nancy Churchman.
"Disability" is defined by the researchers as having at least one impairment (for example a visual or mobility problem) and at least one activity restriction.
Dr. McColl suggests that the east-west gradient may be explained by the fact that complementary and alternative medicine receives more regulatory and financial support (through publicly-funded insurance coverage) in the western provinces.
While the study does not look at the effectiveness of these treatments, "what's concerning is that young people across the country have different levels of access to alternative therapies as publicly-funded services," says Dr. McColl.
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