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Attitudes to evidence in acupuncture: an interview study.
1University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, PO Box 2099, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark. kirstenhansen100@gmail.com
Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy
|April 12, 2011
Summary
Practitioners question the efficacy of alternative therapies like acupuncture, preferring experience-based evidence over strict biomedical trials. They are skeptical of explanatory randomized controlled trials but open to pragmatic approaches.
Area of Science:
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Acupuncture Research
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Growing use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Western countries.
- Lack of clear evidence and consensus on assessing CAM efficacy.
- Need to understand practitioners' perspectives on evidence and evaluation methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate acupuncturists' perspectives on evidence and methods for assessing acupuncture efficacy.
- To explore practitioners' views on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in acupuncture research.
Main Methods:
- Conducted twelve in-depth interviews with acupuncturists in Denmark.
- Included physicians practicing acupuncture and acupuncturists with/without health backgrounds.
- Analyzed interview data thematically, focusing on knowledge of effect and RCTs.
Main Results:
- Identified two main themes: knowledge establishment for acupuncture effects and reflections on RCTs.
- Revealed two conceptions of evidence: biomedical and experience-based.
- Most acupuncturists expressed skepticism towards RCTs due to practical and value-based reasons, particularly explanatory trials, but welcomed pragmatic trials.
Conclusions:
- Acupuncture practitioners hold diverse views on evidence, often favoring experience-based over purely biomedical approaches.
- Skepticism towards explanatory RCTs stems from practical and philosophical concerns about acupuncture's nature.
- Further research and discussion are needed to better understand and evaluate acupuncture's efficacy.
