Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32826780›Full record

ArticleMedical care2020

Does Offering Battlefield Acupuncture Lead to Subsequent Use of Traditional Acupuncture?

Eva R Thomas, Steven B Zeliadt, Scott Coggeshall, Hannah Gelman, Adam Resnick, Karleen Giannitrapani, Juli Olson, Benjamin Kligler, Stephanie L Taylor

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical care, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Auricular Therapy for Migraine.Current pain and headache reports · 2024
    Review
  2. Observational
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Eva R ThomasCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
Steven B ZeliadtCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
Scott CoggeshallCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
Hannah GelmanCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
Adam ResnickCenter for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy, Greater Los Angeles VA Health Care System.
Karleen GiannitrapaniCenter for Innovation to Implementation, Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA.
Juli OlsonVA Central Iowa Health Care System, Des Moines, IA.
Benjamin KliglerIntegrative Health Coordinating Center, Veterans Health Administration.
Stephanie L TaylorCenter for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy, Greater Los Angeles VA Health Care System.
VA Puget Sound Health Care System · USCenter for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior · USCenter for Innovation · USVA Central Iowa Health Care System · USVeterans Health Administration · US

Funding

NRSA Training CoreTL1TR001883 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ALEX BUI, Nina Thawata Harawa · 2016 to 2026
$8.6M
NCATS NIH HHS TL1 TR001883
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesVeterans Health Administration encourages auricular acupuncture (Battlefield Acupuncture/BFA) as a nonpharmacologic approach to pain management. Qualitative reports highlighted a "gateway hypothesis": providing BFA can lead to additional nonpharmacologic treatments. This analysis examines subsequent use of traditional acupuncture. RESEARCH

designCohort study of Veterans treated with BFA and a propensity score matched comparison group with a 3-month follow-up period to identify subsequent use of traditional acupuncture. Matching variables included pain, comorbidity, and demographics, with further adjustment in multivariate regression analysis. SUBJECTS: We identified 41,234 patients who used BFA across 130 Veterans Health Administration medical facilities between October 1, 2016 and March 31, 2019. These patients were matched 2:1 on Veterans who used VA care but not BFA during the same period resulting in a population of 24,037 BFA users and a comparison cohort of 40,358 non-BFA users. Patients with prior use of traditional acupuncture were excluded.

resultsAmong Veterans receiving BFA, 9.5% subsequently used traditional acupuncture compared with 0.9% of non-BFA users (P<0.001). In adjusted analysis, accounting for patient characteristics and regional availability of traditional acupuncture, patients who used BFA had 10.9 times greater odds (95% confidence interval, 8.67-12.24) of subsequent traditional acupuncture use.

conclusionsProviding BFA, which is easy to administer during a patient visit and does not require providers be formally certified, led to a substantial increase in use of traditional acupuncture. These findings suggest that the value of offering BFA may not only be its immediate potential for pain relief but also subsequent engagement in additional therapies.

Indexed as

Acupuncture, EarAcupuncture TherapyAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overComorbidityFemaleHealth StatusHumansMaleMental HealthMiddle AgedPain ManagementPropensity ScoreRegression Analysis

Identifiers

PMID32826780
PMCPMC7497608
OpenAlexW3080134523

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.