Assessing knowledge about acupuncture: a survey of people with back pain in the UK
Assessing knowledge about acupuncture: a survey of people with back pain in the UK
Objectives: Despite the prevalence of acupuncture treatment in the UK, and the increasing evidence of safety and effectiveness, the information presented to patients by practitioners frequently contains inaccuracies. As knowledge of treatment affects both patient decision-making and treatment outcomes, this study aimed to establish what is known about acupuncture in a sample of people who had, and had not, previously experienced acupuncture.
Design: A 15-item questionnaire was constructed to assess knowledge of acupuncture.
Setting: Online survey of people with a history of back pain.
Results: 202 participants completed the questionnaire. 66.8% of the sample was female and 33.2% male, with a mean age of 35 years (range 18–74 years). 87.6% had back pain in the past six months, 44.1% currently. 21.8% had previously received acupuncture, and 69.8% had previously read or heard information about acupuncture. On average participants answered 11.03 of 15 questions about acupuncture correctly (SD = 2.64). Items relating to common concerns about acupuncture, acupuncture efficacy, and types of acupuncture were correctly answered by ?80% of participants. Participants possessed less knowledge of accessibility, Government legislation, and methods of administration.
Conclusions: The study identified key gaps in knowledge about acupuncture among patients. In particular, many participants were unaware that acupuncture is available from the UK National Health Service and that acupuncturists are not subject to statutory regulation in the UK. These knowledge gaps should be addressed in order to increase people’s understanding of and access to acupuncture.
164-168
Greville-Harris, Maddy
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Hughes, John
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Lewith, George
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Liossi, Christina
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White, Peter
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Graham, Cynthia A.
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Bishop, Felicity L.
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December 2016
Greville-Harris, Maddy
15fdf3ab-d129-4191-bfd4-9c14c910bfef
Hughes, John
cb764121-e12d-4838-9f01-f2dd70214960
Lewith, George
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Liossi, Christina
fd401ad6-581a-4a31-a60b-f8671ffd3558
White, Peter
f33829fd-24c9-4b44-a148-24eca9d52253
Graham, Cynthia A.
ac400331-f231-4449-a69b-ec9a477224c8
Bishop, Felicity L.
1f5429c5-325f-4ac4-aae3-6ba85d079928
Greville-Harris, Maddy, Hughes, John, Lewith, George, Liossi, Christina, White, Peter, Graham, Cynthia A. and Bishop, Felicity L.
(2016)
Assessing knowledge about acupuncture: a survey of people with back pain in the UK.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 29, .
(doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.10.005).
Abstract
Objectives: Despite the prevalence of acupuncture treatment in the UK, and the increasing evidence of safety and effectiveness, the information presented to patients by practitioners frequently contains inaccuracies. As knowledge of treatment affects both patient decision-making and treatment outcomes, this study aimed to establish what is known about acupuncture in a sample of people who had, and had not, previously experienced acupuncture.
Design: A 15-item questionnaire was constructed to assess knowledge of acupuncture.
Setting: Online survey of people with a history of back pain.
Results: 202 participants completed the questionnaire. 66.8% of the sample was female and 33.2% male, with a mean age of 35 years (range 18–74 years). 87.6% had back pain in the past six months, 44.1% currently. 21.8% had previously received acupuncture, and 69.8% had previously read or heard information about acupuncture. On average participants answered 11.03 of 15 questions about acupuncture correctly (SD = 2.64). Items relating to common concerns about acupuncture, acupuncture efficacy, and types of acupuncture were correctly answered by ?80% of participants. Participants possessed less knowledge of accessibility, Government legislation, and methods of administration.
Conclusions: The study identified key gaps in knowledge about acupuncture among patients. In particular, many participants were unaware that acupuncture is available from the UK National Health Service and that acupuncturists are not subject to statutory regulation in the UK. These knowledge gaps should be addressed in order to increase people’s understanding of and access to acupuncture.
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Accepted/In Press date: 6 October 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 October 2016
Published date: December 2016
Organisations:
Psychology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 404432
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/404432
ISSN: 0965-2299
PURE UUID: 6e5e4b5a-8b13-48a0-856c-0538d52595bd
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Date deposited: 09 Jan 2017 11:32
Last modified: 21 Mar 2024 02:47
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Contributors
Author:
Maddy Greville-Harris
Author:
John Hughes
Author:
George Lewith
Author:
Peter White
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