Complementary and alternative medicine: Consumers in search of wellness or an expression of need by the sick?

The provision of health care in Western societies is examined in relation to the arrival of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as a serious provider in the latter half of the 20th century. This article examines the underlying components of the increasing uptake of CAM and attempts to cluster health‐care consumers according to their attitudes and motivation toward the use of health‐care products and services. The analysis does not support the idea of a widespread uptake of CAM practitioner treatments on the part of the general public except for particular segments of that public, including the seriously ill. There is also little evidence of exclusive use of CAM for personal health care. On the other hand, there is significant evidence for an uptake of non‐practitioner‐based CAM by wider segments of the population. The findings raise issues regarding the evidence for the efficacy of CAM and the methodology for testing it. These are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.