Users of unconventional practitioners: a profile of 26 year old New Zealanders

Aims. To profile 26 year old New Zealand users of unconventional practition ers. Methods. 977 members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Developmen t Study participating in the age-26 assessment (1998-1999) answered questio ns about twelvemonth service use, education, income, recent medical history , current health status and avoidance of medical situations. Results. 10% had used an unconventional practitioner in the previous twelve months. The majority (88%) had also used a conventional practitioner. Thos e using both types of practitioner were heavy users of health services (twe lve visits/year), Compared to those who used conventional practitioners exc lusively, they had significantly higher incomes and were more likely to rep ort a serious injury, a current disability, a history of back problems, rol e limitations due to physical health problems, and more bodily pain (all p < 0.01). Conclusions. 26 year old New Zealand users of unconventional practitioners have a similar profile to their counterparts in other developed countries. It appears that their health needs are not fully met by conventional servic es, emphasising the need for more research into the aetiology and treatment of ailments (eg back pain) for which unconventional practitioners are comm only sought. The Medical Council of New Zealand guidelines on unconventiona l medicine are discussed in light of these findings.