Supply of Alternative Therapies in Denmark

The study estimates that there are nearly 2700 active and organised alternative practitioners in Denmark.

This corresponds to approximately 50 alternative practitioners per 100,000 Danes.

The corresponding figures for general practitioners are 65 per 100,000 Danes.

The typical Danish alternative practitioner is:

• Female (83 percent)
• 49 years of age.

Education

The study shows that:

• 88 percent of alternative practitioners have an education in alternative medicine.
• 88 percent of alternative practitioners have a vocational education in addition to the education in alternative medicine. For example, 29 percent have an education in health care.

Alternative practitioners primarily working with clairvoyance and healing differ from other alternative practitioners in that only a little over half of them have an education in alternative medicine.

RAB - Registration of Alternative Practitioners

The survey shows that 51 percent of the alternative practitioners are RAB-care providers.

Read more about Registration of Alternative Practitioners - RAB

The study shows that the most common types of alternative practitioners are:

• Reflexologist (41 percent)
• Massage therapist (15 percent)
• Acupuncturist (12 percent) 
• Cranio-Sacral therapist (6 percent)
• Kinesiologist (5 percent).

The study shows that:

• Medical practitioners, dentists and veterinarians often choose to work with acupuncture (28 percent) or kinesiology (20 percent). 
• Nurses primarily choose to work with reflexology (37 percent) and acupuncture (30 percent).

There are no immediate signs of a close cooperation with the public health care system:

• 13 percent of the alternative practitioners refer their clients to the conventional system. 
• 4 percent of the clients are recommended alternative treatment by the conventional system.

A great part of the clients are simultaneously treated for the same condition by an alternative practitioner and the conventional system.

• Alternative practitioners spend an average of 83 minutes on the first treatment session and 66 minutes on the second session. 
• A treatment consists of an average of six treatment sessions. 
• A half hour treatment session costs an average of DKK 149.00.

The average annual income per alternative practitioner is DKK 150,000.00.

The study estimates that the Danish alternative medicine industry has an annual turnover of approximately DKK 400 millions.

In 2005, each alternative practitioner sold herbal and dietary supplements for nearly DKK 24,000.00.

The study estimates that the sale of herbal and dietary supplements gave an annual turnover of approximately DKK eight millions.

The purpose of the study was to gather knowledge about the supply of alternative therapies in Denmark.

The study is based on a questionnaire survey among Danish alternative practitioners, who are organised in a trade association. However, members of some organisations have not participated in the study.

3530 alternative practitioners received a questionnaire, of which 1843 responded. This means that the response rate was 52 percent. During the study it turned out that 253 of the 1843 alternative practitioners were no longer active. Thus, they were not relevant to the study. The study includes only the replies submitted by the 1590 active alternative practitioners.

ViFAB helped fund the study through a research grant to CCESCAM.

CCESCAM