How patients choose acupuncturists: a mixed-methods project
How patients choose acupuncturists: a mixed-methods project
Objectives: Patients can have difficulties choosing acupuncturists in the United Kingdom because acupuncturists are not all subject to statutory regulation. Research has identified factors that influence patients' choice of general practitioner. However, how patients choose acupuncturists has not been studied. The aim was to investigate how patients choose acupuncturists and to identify which factors might influence this choice.
Design: A mixed-methods design used an exploratory qualitative study followed by a quantitative study. The qualitative study explored patients' experiences of acupuncture. The quantitative vignette study investigated the impact of patient gender and practitioner factors (gender, training location, and qualifications) on choice of acupuncturist.
Methods: In the qualitative study, 35 acupuncture patients (recruited through maximum variation sampling from seven clinics and the community) participated in semistructured interviews about their acupuncture experiences. In the quantitative study, 73 participants imagined wanting to consult an acupuncturist for back pain. They rated 8 fictional acupuncturists; ratings were analyzed using analysis of covariance.
Results: Patients wanted qualified, personable acupuncturists and valued recommendations from trusted others. Without such recommendations, potential patients preferred female acupuncturists (F(1,69)?=?4.504, p?<?0.05) and those with medical qualifications (F(1,69)?=?44.832, p?<?0.01).
Conclusions: The decision to consult a particular acupuncturist is not straightforward. Acupuncturists' trustworthiness and technical competence are important to (potential) patients; practitioner gender also influenced preferences. Patients need to be informed about proposals concerning statutory regulation in CAM and its implications; conventional practitioners might be able to better support their patients wanting to consult acupuncturists.
19-25
Bishop, Felicity L.
1f5429c5-325f-4ac4-aae3-6ba85d079928
Massey, Yolanda
4b6da8ff-2618-470b-a846-abb82ec13768
Yardley, L
64be42c4-511d-484d-abaa-f8813452a22e
Lewith, George T.
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625
Bishop, Felicity L.
1f5429c5-325f-4ac4-aae3-6ba85d079928
Massey, Yolanda
4b6da8ff-2618-470b-a846-abb82ec13768
Yardley, L
64be42c4-511d-484d-abaa-f8813452a22e
Lewith, George T.
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625
Bishop, Felicity L., Massey, Yolanda, Yardley, L and Lewith, George T.
(2011)
How patients choose acupuncturists: a mixed-methods project.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17 (1), .
(doi:10.1089/acm.2010.0061).
(PMID:21235412)
(In Press)
Abstract
Objectives: Patients can have difficulties choosing acupuncturists in the United Kingdom because acupuncturists are not all subject to statutory regulation. Research has identified factors that influence patients' choice of general practitioner. However, how patients choose acupuncturists has not been studied. The aim was to investigate how patients choose acupuncturists and to identify which factors might influence this choice.
Design: A mixed-methods design used an exploratory qualitative study followed by a quantitative study. The qualitative study explored patients' experiences of acupuncture. The quantitative vignette study investigated the impact of patient gender and practitioner factors (gender, training location, and qualifications) on choice of acupuncturist.
Methods: In the qualitative study, 35 acupuncture patients (recruited through maximum variation sampling from seven clinics and the community) participated in semistructured interviews about their acupuncture experiences. In the quantitative study, 73 participants imagined wanting to consult an acupuncturist for back pain. They rated 8 fictional acupuncturists; ratings were analyzed using analysis of covariance.
Results: Patients wanted qualified, personable acupuncturists and valued recommendations from trusted others. Without such recommendations, potential patients preferred female acupuncturists (F(1,69)?=?4.504, p?<?0.05) and those with medical qualifications (F(1,69)?=?44.832, p?<?0.01).
Conclusions: The decision to consult a particular acupuncturist is not straightforward. Acupuncturists' trustworthiness and technical competence are important to (potential) patients; practitioner gender also influenced preferences. Patients need to be informed about proposals concerning statutory regulation in CAM and its implications; conventional practitioners might be able to better support their patients wanting to consult acupuncturists.
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Accepted/In Press date: January 2011
Organisations:
Primary Care & Population Sciences
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 173657
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/173657
ISSN: 1075-5535
PURE UUID: 8b23558a-29a4-4411-859a-61f9c51c4b4d
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Date deposited: 07 Feb 2011 09:54
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:47
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Author:
Yolanda Massey
Author:
George T. Lewith
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