1,721,003 research outputs found
A qualitative exploration of how patients conceptualise their acupuncturists: technicians, caring professionals, and wise healers
No full textObjectives. To explore how patients conceptualise acupuncturists, the meanings ascribed to the therapeutic relationship and valued therapeutic behaviours.Design: Qualitative study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews explored patients’ experiences of acupuncture. A diverse sample of 35 participants took part; they had used acupuncture for a variety of predominantly chronic conditions. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes. Setting: Southern England.Results. Participants conceptualised acupuncturists in three ways: technician, caring professional, and wise and gifted healer. Each conceptualisation had different implications for patient health. For example, lifestyle advice from a wise healer was seen as inspirational wisdom, while lifestyle advice from a caring professional was seen as evidence of caring. Participants inferred empathy when acupuncturists took a detailed history, took notes during treatment, and provided therapeutic commentaries. Participants inferred knowledge and/or wisdom when acupuncturists made changes to treatments over time, provided explanatory frameworks for their symptoms, and made effective recommendations concerning lifestyle and health behaviours. Conclusions. The findings provide novel insights into how patients view acupuncturists, suggesting acupuncture-specific models that do not directly map onto conventional models of doctor-patient relationships. Understanding how patients think about their acupuncturist and make sense of clinical interactions could help acupuncturists to hone their therapeutic skills. <br/
Developing a measure of treatment beliefs: the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Beliefs Inventory
No full textObjectives:
The study aimed to develop a comprehensive generic measure of treatment beliefs, the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Beliefs Inventory (CAMBI), and to identify distinct dimensions of CAM-related beliefs.Methods:
The CAMBI and other measures were presented and advertised online.Results:
328 completed questionnaires were received. Factor analysis indicated three dimensions of beliefs could be identified. Subscales of the CAMBI were developed measuring beliefs in natural treatment, participation in treatment and holistic health. The subscales all had satisfactory reliability and were significantly correlated with CAM use (Spearman's rho = .18, .47 and .22 for natural treatments, holistic health and participation in treatment, respectively).Conclusions:
The CAMBI measures three distinct dimensions of treatment beliefs, all of which are related to CAM use
Why do people use different forms of complementary medicine? Multivariate associations between treatment and illness beliefs and complementary medicine use.
No full textThis study investigated associations between complementary medicine use and treatment and illness beliefs. Previously validated questionnaire measures of treatment beliefs, illness beliefs, and complementary medicine use were presented and advertised online. Completed questionnaires were received from 247 participants. Logistic regression analysis showed that demographic characteristics, treatment beliefs, and illness beliefs accounted for approximately 36% of the variance in complementary medicine use. Separate analyses were conducted to predict use of different types of complementary medicine. The strength of associations between beliefs and complementary medicine use was related to the type of complementary medicine used. The results suggest that people use complementary medicine because they are attracted to it rather than because they are disillusioned with orthodox medicine, and that both treatment and illness beliefs have an important role in explaining why people use complementary medicin
The development and validation of an outcome measure of proximate spiritual healing: a mixed methods study
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Mean-making and efficacy research: A qualitative analysis to interpret the results of a randomised controlled trial
No full textDevelopment and initial validation of the Perceptions of Parental Illness Questionnaire (PPIQ)
No full textMean-making and efficacy research: A qualitative analysis to interpret the results of a randomised controlled trial. Presented at the 5th International Congress on Complementary Medicine, Tromso
No full textPurpose: This study aimed to develop explanations for the quantitative findings of an RCT by systematically interrogating data from the nested qualitative study (narrative interviews, framework analysis).Methods: The single-blind RCT examined the efficacy of real acupuncture (and empathic consultations) for pain relief in hip and knee osteoarthritis. 27 RCT participants were purposively selected to interview, to encompass all treatment conditions.Results: Interviewees were active participants who sought to make meaning of their experiences in the trial. They wanted acupuncture and thought it might benefit them, thus subverting patient equipoise. Interviewees sought to determine whether they were receiving real treatment and drew on cues including perceived outcomes, treatment sensations, and practitioner behaviours. We outline evidence for a reciprocal process in which interviewees’ perceptions of treatment veracity and outcomes were mutually reinforcing. The most successful practitioner was seen as an authoritative doctor. Interviewees reported colluding with practitioners in nonempathic consultations, and inferred empathy from experiences associated with the trial but outside the protocol treatments.Conclusion : This nested qualitative analysis offered novel insights into the RCT findings that would not have been possible from the quantitative data alone. Conceptualising and understanding RCT subjects as active participants has important implications for trial design.<br/
How do patients choose an acupuncturist? A mixed methods study. Presented at the 5th International Congress on Complementary Medicine, Tromso
No full textPurpose: Patients can have difficulties choosing acupuncturists in the UK as they are not currently subject to statutory regulation. A qualitative study explored patients’ experiences of acupuncture. A quantitative vignette study investigated the impact of patientgender and practitioner factors (gender, training location and qualifications) on choice of acupuncturist.Methods: Qualitative study: 35 acupuncturepatients (maximum variation sampling) participated in semistructured interviews about their acupuncture experiences (thematic analysis). Quantitative study: 83 participants imagined wanting to consult an acupuncturist for back pain. They rated 8fictional acupuncturists.Results: Patients wanted qualified, personable acupuncturists and valued recommendations from trustedothers. Without such recommendations, potential patients preferred female acupuncturists (F(1,76)=30.63,p<.01) with medical qualifications (F(1,76)=125.72, p<.01), who trained in China (F(1,76)=8.53), p<.01). Conclusions: The decision to consult a particular acupuncturist is not straight forward. Acupuncturists’trustworthiness and authenticity are important to (potential) patients; practitioner gender also influencedpreferences in our participants. Patients need to be informed about forthcoming statutory regulation inCAM and its implications; GPs might be able to better support their patients wanting to consult acupuncturists
A systematic review of epidemiological studies on the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by paediatric cancer patients. Presented at North American Conference on Integrative Medicine.
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