FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UTILIZATION OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN A SMALL-TOWN IN HONG-KONG

The practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is largely unregula ted in Hong Kong. Yet, as previous studies have shown, a sizable segme nt of the population consults TCM practitioners for health problems. T his paper uses health care utilization data from a telephone health su rvey of 847 adult subjects in Tai Po District who had suffered from ac ute illness in the past month, to examine the profile of TCM users in the District. Women, older residents, unemployed workers, low skill la borers, current smokers and subjects dissatisfied with the quality of private sector clinics were significantly more likely to consult TCM p ractitioners.