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The Feasibility of Developing an Inpatient Acupuncture Program at a Tertiary Care Pediatric Hospital
Jaime Ralston-Wilson1, Elizabeth Artola1, Anne M Lynn1,2
11 Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital , Seattle, WA.
Insights
A pilot inpatient acupuncture program at a pediatric hospital demonstrated feasibility and high demand. Positive feedback from patients and providers led to the program
Area of Science:
- Complementary and Integrative Health
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Acupuncture and Manual Therapies
Background:
- Increasing use of complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches in healthcare.
- Growing implementation of hospital-based acupuncture services.
- Need for evidence on CIH program feasibility in pediatric settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of establishing an inpatient acupuncture program at a pediatric hospital.
- To evaluate patient and provider acceptance of acupuncture services in a pediatric hospital setting.
- To inform the potential expansion of similar programs to other pediatric institutions.
Main Methods:
- A 6-month pilot project offering inpatient acupuncture and manual therapies to pediatric patients (0-23 years).
- Data collection included consult reasons, treatment details, patient response, adverse events, and feedback via questionnaires.
- Seattle Children's Hospital, a tertiary care facility, hosted the pilot program.
Main Results:
- 338 acupuncture treatments were provided to 87 pediatric patients during the pilot phase.
- High interest and demand for inpatient acupuncture were reported by hospital providers, patients, and families.
- Positive feedback and questionnaire data indicated strong feasibility and acceptability.
Conclusions:
- The pilot inpatient acupuncture program at Seattle Children's Hospital was feasible and well-accepted.
- Increasing consults and positive feedback suggest potential for similar programs in other pediatric hospitals.
- This study supports the integration of acupuncture into pediatric inpatient care settings.
Objectives:
Use of complementary and integrative health approaches has increased significantly in recent decades, with hospital-based acupuncture programs becoming more common. This article presents the feasibility of developing an inpatient acupuncture program at a pediatric hospital.
Design And Setting:
In January 2014, Seattle Children's Hospital, a tertiary care pediatric hospital serving patients from a five-state region, began a 6-month pilot project offering inpatient acupuncture. During the pilot, inpatient acupuncture and related manual therapies were provided to pediatric patients age 0-23 years who were admitted to Seattle Children's Hospital or were seen for an outpatient surgical procedure.
Measures:
The following data were collected: the reason for the acupuncture consult, type and number of treatments provided, any reported response to treatment, and any reported adverse events. Patients and referring providers gave feedback via questionnaires.
Results:
During the pilot program, 338 treatments were provided to 87 patients. High interest, demand, and positive feedback from hospital providers, patients, and families led to the development of a full-time inpatient acupuncture program.
Conclusions:
The positive response to Seattle Children's inpatient acupuncture program with feasibility and acceptability demonstrated by increasing consults and patient and provider questionnaire data suggest that similar programs may be of interest to other pediatric hospitals.
