title: Exploring outcomes associated with acupuncture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to explore various methods of assessing clinically meaningful change associated with a course of acupuncture treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  The design was a prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The setting was an acupuncture clinic staffed by two physician acupuncturists in a university-affiliated family practice center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects consisted of consecutive new patients to an acupuncture clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outcomes were measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and Measure Your Own Medical Outcomes Profile (MYMOP). Outcomes measured were global clinical change and patient satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 112 eligible patients, 110 consented to the study and contributed baseline data. Of these, 80 (71%) completed the 2-month follow-up questionnaire. Mean age of study subjects was 54.5 (standard deviation, SD 17.6) years; 85 (77%) were female, and 75 (68%) were married. Mean number of acupuncture treatments during the 2-month follow-up period was 5.8 (SD, 3.5, range, 1 to 16). Statistically significant improvement from baseline to follow-up was observed with the bodily pain subscale of the SF-36 and with the MYMOP. Among those who completed the study, 52 (67%) felt that the main symptom for which they sought acupuncture had improved over the course of the study and 72 (90%) were satisfied with their treatment in the acupuncture clinic.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MYMOP instrument appears to be the most useful of the four measures used to evaluate clinical outcomes associated with a course of acupuncture treatments (SF-36, MYMOP, global clinical change, and patient satisfaction). This easy-to-administer instrument appears to be sensitive to clinical change over a 2-month period among patients who sought acupuncture for a wide variety of clinical conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. shull@siumed.edu
authors.forename: Sharon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hull
authors.forename: Cristen P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Bron D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.forename: Julie C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Linville
authors.forename: Remy R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Coeytaux
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires