STUDY OF THE SOCIO-PROFESSIONAL STATUS OF RUSSIAN HOMEOPATHS

The paper presents the findings of a study of socio-professional status and professionalization of Russian homeopaths. Homeopaths are considered as a professional group, which since the late 1980s follows the path of the institutionalization within Russian healthcare system, alongside with other methods of alternative medicine. Despite the official recognition of the homeopathic method and the development of the homeopathic market, homeopaths position in medical community remains ambiguous. As a methodological framework for the study of social and professional status of homoeopaths were used resource approach and the concepts developed in studies of occupational groups. We analyzed four types of resources - economic, powerful, cultural and social. In so doing, special attention was paid to the professional autonomy as an indicator of power resource group.