How far can complementary and alternative medicine go?
This paper examines the efforts of two complementary and alternative occupations, chiropractors and homeopaths, to move from the margins to the mainstream in health care in the province of Ontario. We use a variety of theoretical perspectives to understand how health occupations professionalize: the trait functionalist framework, social closure, the system of professions, and the concept of countervailing powers. The research traces the strategies that the leaders of the two groups are employing, as well as the resources they are able to marshal. These are analyzed within the context of the larger institutional and cultural environment. The data are derived from in-person interviews with 16 leaders (10 chiropractic and 6 homeopathic) identified through professional associations, teaching institutions and informants from the groups. The responses were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. We also used archival materials to document what the leaders were telling us. The data reveal
