Parental attitudes toward acupuncture in a community sample. J Altern Complement Med 2009 Jun;15(6):661-8
Date
06/06/2009Pubmed ID
19489705DOI
10.1089/acm.2008.0449Scopus ID
2-s2.0-69449083880 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 8 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to investigate parental attitudes toward acupuncture for their child. No known research has explored how medical providers discuss acupuncture with families or specific concerns parents have about acupuncture. This study examined whether acupuncture attitudes were influenced by (1) the way acupuncture is explained to parents by a physician and (2) parental experience with acupuncture.
DESIGN: Parents (N = 240) read vignettes that varied in a 2 (Physician Description of Acupuncture: Traditional Chinese Medicine versus biomedical) x 2 (Gender: male versus female) design and responded to questions assessing their attitudes toward acupuncture.
RESULTS: A factor analysis of the vignette questions resulted in two factors: acupuncture acceptability (alpha = 0.88) and information seeking (alpha = 0.70). Previous experience with acupuncture significantly increased acupuncture acceptability and reduced interest in information seeking. Parents with experience were more likely to report wanting to pursue acupuncture for their child. A biomedical explanation led to increased acceptability and interest in pursuing information among parents with experience (d = 0.36), and significantly predicted parental agreement with the vignette item, "I would have my child receive acupuncture treatment." Common acupuncture concerns included fear of needles and acupuncture ineffectiveness.
CONCLUSIONS: Parents' experience with acupuncture, regardless of its perceived helpfulness, appears to play an important role in their consideration of acupuncture for their child. Additional research is needed to fully understand the importance of the way acupuncture is presented to families, as it appears to impact parental attitudes in subtle ways. Parents have numerous concerns regarding acupuncture. Our findings suggest that providers would benefit from increased awareness of families' interest in and use of complementary and alternative medicine so as to better monitor safety, provide advice, and discuss treatment expectations and misconceptions.
Author List
Jastrowski Mano KE, Davies WHAuthor
W. Hobart Davies Professor & Chair in the Phychology department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Acupuncture TherapyAdult
Child
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Health Care Surveys
Humans
Male
Migraine Disorders
Parents
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Pediatrics
Physician-Patient Relations
