The perspectives of educators, regulators and funders of massage therapy on the state of the profession in British Columbia, Canada

We interviewed 28 stakeholders of MT in BC – including members of the MT regulatory board, representatives from MT colleges in BC and public and private health insurers.All three groups identified research, particularly on efficacy of MT, as playing a vital role in enhancing the professional credibility of MT. However, participants noted that presently research is not a large feature of the current MT curricula and we analyze why this may be and how it can improve. Finally, conferral of baccalaureate degree status could assist RMTs in gaining recognition with the general public and other healthcare professionals.RMTs have potential to ameliorate population health in a cost-effective manner. Their role in British Columbia’s healthcare landscape could be expanded if they produce more research and earn degree status.Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs) in British Columbia (BC) are autonomous, self-regulating professionals. The majority of their practices operate as privately funded businesses providing mainly musculoskeletal healthcare services [1]. The majority of their funding comes from public and private insurance companies and their educational institutions are also for-profit businesses [2].Massage Therapy (MT) regulation varies across Canada. Only BC, Ontario and Newfoundland currently regulate the practice of MT [3]. RMTs in BC must register with the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia (CMTBC). There are three levels of legislation governing MT in the province: 1) the Health Professions Act of BC, 2) The Massage Therapists Regulation and 3) the By laws of the College of Massage Therapists in BC [4]. In BC, membership requires a minimum of 3000 hours, or approximately three years of training, making the approximately 2600 RMTs [5] in BC some of the best trained massage therapists in the world [6]. With cutbacks to provincial healthcare coverage, limited MT treatments are available for low income individuals [7]. Those who seek MT services due to mo