title: Educational Importance of Acupuncture and Moxibustion: A Survey at the Tokai University School of Medicine Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acupuncture and moxibustion are categories of Japanese traditional medicine (Kampo). Precise teaching of Kampo is one of the important issues in medical education, and therefore acupuncture and moxibustion education has been applied to students in Tokai University School of Medicine. To investigate and compare the awareness the medical students have of acupuncture and moxibustion before and after the education, we conducted questionnaire surveys.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaires were distributed to 117 fourth-year students before and after the education.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 117 students issued surveys, 111 responded before, 115 after, and 109 both before and after the education program. Before the education, 79% of the respondents were interested in acupuncture and moxibustion, and 67%, 73%, and 80% thought they were effective, necessary, and worth learning. These results were increased to 92%, 95%, 94% and 97% after the education, respectively (p<0.001 in all four comparisons). Although 9% said they would perform acupuncture and moxibustion in their routines proactively before the education, after the education this increased to 24% (p<0.001), and 43% supposed that they would definitely introduce patients to acupuncturists.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical students' awareness improved after the education, which demonstrated importance of the acupuncture and moxibustion education in medical school.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Kampo Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan. yoshinobu_nakada@tsc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakada
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arai
mesh_terms: D026881:Acupuncture / Q000193:education*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D009071:Moxibustion; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires