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Patients' Expectancies to Acupuncture: A Systematic Review
Xingyue Yang1, Tianlin Wang1, Yu Jiang1
1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine
|March 16, 2022
Summary
Patient expectations for acupuncture are increasingly studied, but standardized methods for assessment are lacking. Future research needs reliable tools to measure these expectations and their impact on acupuncture outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Integrative and Complementary Medicine
- Clinical Psychology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Patient expectations significantly influence treatment outcomes across various medical fields.
- Understanding patient expectancies in acupuncture is crucial for interpreting clinical effects and optimizing therapy.
- Previous research has explored patient expectations for acupuncture, but a comprehensive overview of assessment methods and their relationship with outcomes is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and describe the methods and timing used to assess patients' expectancies regarding acupuncture.
- To examine the relationship between patients' expectancies and the clinical effects of acupuncture.
- To identify gaps and provide recommendations for future research on acupuncture expectancies.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted using multiple English and Chinese databases up to February 2020.
- Studies assessing patients' expectancies for acupuncture were included, with data extracted on study characteristics, design, and expectation measurement.
- Methodological quality was assessed using risk of bias tools and reporting standards for acupuncture interventions.
Main Results:
- 61 RCTs were included, with a notable increase in publications after 2008, particularly those focusing on pain alleviation.
- Expectancies were most commonly measured before treatment (43 studies), using various self-made or established scales, though 17 studies did not specify their measurement tools.
- The relationship between patient expectancies and clinical effects was found to be relevant in 19 studies, irrelevant in 21, and unaddressed in 21.
Conclusions:
- Patient expectations for acupuncture are gaining research interest, yet standardized measurement times and methods remain undefined.
- There is a critical need to develop validated and reliable instruments for assessing patient expectations in acupuncture.
- Future trials should focus on accurately measuring expectations and further elucidating their connection to acupuncture outcomes.
