Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104347

Adam Burke, PhD, MPH, LAc¹, Dawn M. Upchurch, PhD², Claire Dye, MSPH², and Laura Chyu, MA². (1) Health Education/Institute for Holistic Healing Studies, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132, (2) Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Dr., CHS 21-236A, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310-794-9391, lchyu@ucla.edu

One of the major areas of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research and practice in the US is acupuncture. A Pubmed search of the term ‘acupuncture' produced over 9,000 citations. It has been endorsed by the National Institutes of Health as an effective modality, widely written about in the popular press, and become one of the fastest growing allied health professions throughout the country. It is also one of the important CAM elements in many public health related treatment programs, such as in addiction and HIV services. Until recently reliable information on acupuncture use was not available. This paper provides a representative national overview of acupuncture usage patterns in the US using data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Preliminary results of the 36,161 participants interviewed show that 1,274 (4.10%) had used acupuncture at some time, and 329 (1.06%) had used acupuncture in the past 12 months. Respondents typically saw an acupuncturist 2-4 times, generally to treat specific health complaints. Acupuncture was used to treat a wide array of problems, but the most frequently cited reasons included pain (back, neck, joint, headache, arthritis), and anxiety or depression. When asked whether acupuncture helped, the majority (60%) responded ‘A great deal' or ‘Somewhat.' Nearly half (40%) used acupuncture because conventional medicine could not help them, although 46% reported that they believed using acupuncture in combination with conventional medicine would be helpful. These data provide insight into acupuncture use in the US with implications relevant to public health research and policy.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the national profile of acupuncture use.
• List several major reasons for use.
• Describe common perceptions of acupuncture efficacy and importance to consumers.
• Describe implications for public health policy and research.

Keywords: Alternative Medicine/Therapies, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.