Andrews Gavin J, Phillips David R
Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 50 St George Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3H4.
Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2005 May;11(2):87-104. doi: 10.1016/j.ctnm.2004.08.003.
Although small business private complementary medicine (CAM) has grown to be a significant provider of health care in many Western societies, there has been relatively little research on the sector in business terms and on its wider socio-economic position and role. Using a combined questionnaire and interview survey, and the concept of small business petit bourgeoisie as a framework, this paper considers the character of therapists and their businesses in England and Wales. The findings suggest that typical of the core characteristics of both the petit bourgeoisie and therapists are the selling of goods with a considerable market viability, at the same time financial insecurity; the modest size of businesses; small amounts of direct employment generation and business owners undertaking everyday 'hands-on' work themselves. Certain of the therapists' and business characteristics depart from the stereotypical image of a small businesses class, such as the high incidence of part-time self-employment and incomes being supplemented often by unrelated waged employment. However, given the acknowledged diversity of the petit bourgeoisie between societies and over time, the framework is arguably appropriate in this context, and private CAM a latest guise. Indeed, just as the petit bourgeoisie have traditionally found market niches either neglected or rejected by bigger business, small business CAM has provided the forms of health care neglected and sometimes rejected by orthodox medicine.
尽管小型企业的私人补充医学（CAM）在许多西方社会已发展成为医疗保健的重要提供者，但从商业角度以及其更广泛的社会经济地位和作用方面，对该领域的研究相对较少。本文采用问卷调查与访谈相结合的方式，并以小企业小资产阶级概念为框架，考察了英格兰和威尔士治疗师及其企业的特点。研究结果表明，小资产阶级和治疗师的核心特征典型表现为：销售具有相当市场活力的商品，但同时存在财务不安全感；企业规模适度；直接创造的就业机会少，企业主自身从事日常的“实际操作”工作。治疗师和企业的某些特征偏离了小企业阶层的刻板印象，例如兼职自营职业的高发生率以及收入常常由不相关的有薪工作来补充。然而，鉴于公认的不同社会之间以及不同时期小资产阶级的多样性，该框架在这种情况下可以说是合适的，而私人补充医学是其最新表现形式。事实上，正如小资产阶级传统上找到被大企业忽视或拒绝的市场利基一样，小企业的补充医学提供了被正统医学忽视甚至有时拒绝的医疗保健形式。
