Acupuncture knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and health service needs after traumatic brain injury: a cross-sectional survey

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Acupunct Med
• Personal Author:
  Sodders, Mark D. ; Deshpande, Shyam J. ; Dusek, Jeffery A. ; Bradley, Ryan ; Vavilala, Monica S.
• Description:
  Background:
  
  Acupuncture is a promising treatment for common symptoms after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our objectives were to explore knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about acupuncture, identify health service needs, and assess the perceived feasibility of weekly acupuncture visits among individuals with TBI.
  
  Methods:
  
  We surveyed adults 18 years of age and older with TBI who received care at the University of Washington. Respondents were asked to complete 143 questions regarding acupuncture knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, injury-related symptoms and comorbidities, and to describe their interest in weekly acupuncture.
  
  Results:
  
  Respondents (n=136) reported a high degree of knowledge about acupuncture as a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine, needle use and safety, but were less knowledgeable regarding that the fact that most conditions require multiple acupuncture treatments to achieve optimal therapeutic benefit. Respondents were comfortable talking with healthcare providers about acupuncture (63.4%), open to acupuncture concurrent with conventional treatments (80.6%) and identified lack of insurance coverage as a barrier (50.8%). Beliefs varied, but respondents were generally receptive to using acupuncture as therapy. Unsurprisingly, respondents with a history of acupuncture (n=60) had more acupuncture knowledge than those without such a history (n=66) and were more likely to pursue acupuncture without insurance (60%), for serious health conditions (63.3%) or alongside conventional medical therapy (85.0%). Half of all respondents expressed interest in participating in weekly acupuncture for up to 12 months and would expect almost a 50% improvement in symptoms by participating.
  
  Conclusion:
  
  Adults with TBI were receptive and interested in participating in weekly acupuncture to address health concerns. These results provide support for exploring the integration of acupuncture into the care of individuals with TBI.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Acupuncture Therapy Adult Aged Brain Injuries, Traumatic Cross-Sectional Studies Female Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health Services Needs And Demand Humans Male Middle Aged Surveys And Questionnaires Young Adult

  More +
• Keywords:
  Acupuncture Complementary Medicine Neurology
• Source:
  Acupunct Med. 42(4):194-208
• Pubmed ID:
  38721741
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC11662851
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  K24 AT011568/AT/NCCIH NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 AT010598/AT/NCCIH NIH HHSUnited States/ ; TL1 TR002318/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R49 CE003087/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/ ; UL1 TR002319/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; KL2 TR002317/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a307ee93cc93cf7fa79e02ffd100cfaff7033e53efa9fea6b6302bc0f1cbd9663d163be8231be5b7a06ad74dcfb05416306ad179264acdbb5e88799a9f0bbb59
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/175234/cdc_175234_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 841.99 KB ]