Trial reportThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2011
Traditional acupuncture for people with medically unexplained symptoms: a longitudinal qualitative study of patients' experiences.
Trial report in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- Quality of life, sense of coherence and experiences with three different treatments in patients with psychological distress in primary care: a mixed-methods study.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2015Trial
- "Until the trial is complete you can't really say whether it helped you or not, can you?": exploring cancer patients' perceptions of taking part in a trial of acupressure wristbands.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2013Trial
- Acupuncture for 'frequent attenders' with medically unexplained symptoms: a randomised controlled trial (CACTUS study).The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Trial
- Gap between the Scientificization and Utilization of Korean Medicine for Depressive Disorder in South Korea with the Highest Suicide Rate among OECD Countries.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Lifestyle and health behaviour change support in traditional acupuncture: a mixed method survey study of reported practice (UK).BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022Article
- Effect of Telephone Call and Text Message Reminders on Patient Return to Acupuncture Follow-Up Treatment: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Medical acupuncture · 2021Article
- Whole Systems Research Methods in Health Care: A Scoping Review.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2019Article
- Predicting adherence to acupuncture appointments for low back pain: a prospective observational study.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Observational
- Assessing knowledge about acupuncture: A survey of people with back pain in the UK.Complementary therapies in medicine · 2016Article
- Using psychological theory and qualitative methods to develop a new evidence-based website about acupuncture for back pain.European journal of integrative medicine · 2016Article
- Article
- "The Monkey on Your Shoulder": A Qualitative Study of Lymphoedema Patients' Attitudes to and Experiences of Acupuncture and Moxibustion.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2016Article
- "I Felt Like It Was God's Hands Putting the Needles In": A Qualitative Analysis of the Experience of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain in a Low-Income, Ethnically Diverse, and Medically Underserved Patient Population.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2015Article
- Psychological covariates of longitudinal changes in back-related disability in patients undergoing acupuncture.The Clinical journal of pain · 2015Article
- The reasons for using acupuncture for pain relief.Iranian Red Crescent medical journal · 2014Article
- What is traditional acupuncture--exploring goals and processes of treatment in the context of women with early breast cancer.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2014Article
- Acupuncture with manual and low frequency electrical stimulation as experienced by women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a qualitative study.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2012Article
- Developing a patient-centered outcome measure for complementary and alternative medicine therapies I: defining content and format.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2011Article
- Developing a patient-centered outcome measure for complementary and alternative medicine therapies II: refining content validity through cognitive interviews.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2011Article
- Acupuncture for 'frequent attenders' with medically unexplained symptoms.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPeople with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are helped by interventions that combine physical and psychological explanations and treatment. Traditional acupuncture may offer such a perspective, but its use for these patients has not been investigated.
aimTo ascertain how patients with MUPS perceive and experience five-element acupuncture treatment. DESIGN AND
settingA longitudinal qualitative interview study, nested in a randomised controlled trial was carried out in four general practices in socioeconomically diverse areas of London.
methodA purposive sample of 20 trial participants was interviewed twice, at the start and the end of 6 months of acupuncture treatment. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed thematically, summarising both across-case as themes and within-case individual vignettes.
resultsAcupuncture, initially accepted as 'just another referral' - one like many others that had been tried and proved unsuccessful - was valued for the amount of time allotted with a caring practitioner who listened and responded, as well as for the interactive and holistic nature of the sessions. These attributes encouraged many patients to take an active role in their treatment, including making cognitive or behavioural lifestyle changes. Interviewees cited a wide range of changes in their health that spanned physical, psychological, and social dimensions. These were largely positive and included an increase in physical and/or mental energy, as well as feelings of greater personal control, calmness, and relaxation. Three interviewees reported worsening health but did not ascribe this to acupuncture.
conclusionMany patients who were treated with five-element acupuncture perceived a range of positive effects and appeared to take on a more active role in consultations and self-care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.