title: Lessons from an acupuncture teaching clinic: patient characteristics and pain management effectiveness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the following about patients using an acupuncture teaching clinic: (1) sociodemographic characteristics and main complaints and (2) self-reported level of patient-centered outcomes regarding pain management.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 458 new patients at NESA clinic during October 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010 were enrolled in the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A variety of styles of Oriental medicine, primarily Chinese and Japanese style acupuncture and also heat treatments (MOXA or heat lamps) and Tui Na (Asia bodywork).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results from Objective 1 were descriptive (n = 421). Objective 2 focused on the 59 patients from the larger sample who completed both an initial and a follow-up Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP) form and who used acupuncture for pain management of (1) diseases of the musculoskeletal system and/or connective tissue or (2) migraine/headache. Both the symptom severity and activity of daily living/well-being scales of the MYMOP showed over 15.8% improvement from baseline to at least six weeks of treatment: 28.6% for Symptom 1, 19.4% for Symptom 2, 35.7% for activities of daily living, and 25.0% for well-being. The relative majority for each sociodemographic trait investigated were as follows: female, about 40 years old, white, not Hispanic or Latino, married, highly educated, and employed. Most patients were confident in acupuncture treatment. Out of the 421 acupuncture patients, 68.2% wanted acupuncture in order to manage pain. Overall, 20.6% of the patients (59, N = 287) who used acupuncture for pain management for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and/or connective tissue or migraine or headache completed the sixth-week follow-up MYMOP form. Of these patients, 57.6% (34, N = 59) returned during week 6 of the semester for acupuncture treatment and reported clinical improvement in at least one MYMOP severity score, and no score got worse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The information about sociodemographic characteristic and patient-centered outcomes of pain management can be used for service provision, future study planning, and marketing. Future studies should address the low follow-up rate, the quality of self-reported clinic data, and the reasons that patients chose acupuncture treatments and teaching clinics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, New England School of Acupuncture, 150 California Street, Newton, MA 02458. Electronic address: khsu@nesa.edu.
authors.forename: Kai-Yin
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Pain Research, Education and Policy Program (PREP), Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University, School of Medicine Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Ylisabyth S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, New England School of Acupuncture, 150 California Street, Newton, MA 02458; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Conboy
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008518:Medicine, East Asian Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acupuncture; complementary medicine; medical education and training; pain management; pain research; patient-centered outcomes