Social networks and Chinese medicine consultation in Hong Kong

Chinese medicine has a long history of several thousand years and is one of the few forms of “alternative” medicine endorsed by the WHO. It has been incorporated, in various degrees, into national health care systems in many societies. In Hong Kong, the government formally set out policies to institutionalize Chinese medicine and reincorporate Chinese medicine into the public health care system after 1997. Yet, the Hong Kong health care system is still dominated by Western biomedicine and Chinese medicine is largely deemed as an alternative treatment method by people. Further, many Hong Kong people are still skeptical about the efficacy of Chinese medicine and service quality provided by Chinese medicine practitioners. In situations of uncertainties, social networks are found to be able to reduce the cost of a transaction. Social ties can provide reliable information, serve as reference, and give endorsement to a certain practice. Taking the social network perspective, this paper examines the role of social ties in the use of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong, in particular, the attitudes toward Chinese medicine and the decision to consult a Chinese medicine practitioner for illness treatment. Data for analysis were collected in a household telephone survey conducted in 2010. The sample consists of 999 Chinese adults. Results show that the use of Chinese medicine is rather prevalent in Hong Kong, although Western medicine consultation is still the most popular treatment method. A combined use of Chinese and Western medical services for illness treatment is also evident. The most frequently cited reasons for not consulting a Chinese medicine practitioner are related to the negative views about Chinese medicine and a lack of confidence in / knowledge about Chinese medicine. Multivariate analyses indicate that favorable attitudes towards Chinese medicine, and having family members and/or friends who have previously consulted Chinese medicine practitioners are positively associated with Chinese medical consultation.