In Asia, Women are More Inclined to Seek a Holistic Type of Treatment than Asian Men

A study were done a few years ago on who are the biggest users of complementary medicine, alternative medicine, and TCM or traditional Chinese medicine. The study was insightful and is an indication on how acupuncture can be highly promoted among different societies in the world.

Almost all Chinese medicine practitioners understand that the primary objective of treatment is to address the root of the problem, not just merely resolving the unwanted symptoms. The final aim is to preserve the achieved well-being of the body systems by balancing these systems. Patients who have adequate knowledge of Chinese medicine usually demand this of their practitioners.

In Asian countries such as Singapore, where acupuncture is practiced widely, it is common to see that although a lot of Chinese patients often look for practitioners who are also Western trained physicians, for treatment of their health problems. A large number of them (43%) will go to a traditional Chinese herbalist for further consultation for the same problem. There are those who rely on traditional Chinese medicine as an alternative or complementary treatment.

Several research works have suggested that users of TCM are likely to be women and have better education. Because of their biological and more “complicated” biological nature, women avail more of healthcare services than men. Therefore, with more women who are better educated in modern societies, they tend to have a much superior spending power. Hence, we can see the phenomenon (at least in Singapore) where women are more capable and more desirous of willing to spend to achieve better holistic health than men.

This type of research can help a TCM practitioner gain a better insight on how he/she can better promote her profession.

Zuobiao (Roy) Yuan is a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of chinese medicine in Edina, MN.