Demographic and Clinical Factors Associated with Patient Adherence to Acupuncture Treatment

Acupuncture uses needle stimulation upon the body's meridian points to alleviate physical and psychologic symptoms. In clinical practice, acupuncturists often recommend patients to attend follow-up treatment to achieve cumulative benefit over time. Adherence to acupuncture treatment was studied, and demographic and clinical factors were tested that may predict adherence. A retrospective chart review at an acupuncture teaching clinic was conducted using data from 2014, where patients routinely received recommendations to return for follow-up visits to continue their management of the same health condition. A total of 131 patients were included with an initial consultation in this analysis (mean age = 43 ± 15, 40% male). Rates of adherence to acupuncture follow-up treatment were determined by tracking whether patients had any subsequent follow-up visits in 30 days after their initial consultation. Demographic and clinical characteristics that differed between adherers (≥1 follow-up visit) and nonadherers (no follow-up visit) were then tested. Among the adherer sample, the authors tested whether these characteristics were associated with a higher number of follow-up visits was tested. Half (50%) of the patient sample adhered to ≥1 follow-up visits in 30 days after their initial consultation. Patients reporting multiple chief complaints were more likely to have a follow-up visit than those with a single complaint (63% vs. 42%, p = 0.02). Receipt of a treatment plan (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.37, p = 0.02) and first follow-up visit within 7 days of initial treatment (IRR: 1.42, p = 0.01) were associated with a higher number of follow-up visits among adherers, after adjusting for covariates. The predicted number of follow-up visits for patients with a treatment plan was 2.5 (standard error [SE] = 0.3) and that for those without a treatment plan was 1.8 (SE = 0.2) among adherers. The rate of return to an acupuncture clinic for follow-up treatment was low (50%). Patient adherence to acupuncture follow-up treatments may be improved by clinical administrative protocols that formalize treatment plans and appointment scheduling.