Exploring Patient and Physician Experiences of Medical Acupuncture

NCT02855593 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: FWH20160066H
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 65
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The proposed qualitative inquiry seeks to understand medical acupuncture from both the physician and the patient perspective. Interviewees will be asked to describe their experiences from the point of diagnosis or training up until the present day to capture the nature of their experiences across the treatment trajectory. Sample size for the qualitative data collection will be based on saturation of themes (thematic findings, e.g., patient talk is limited by family knowledge or physician-patient communication is limited by time constraints in the clinical setting), meaning investigators will continue recruitment until they are no longer hearing new experiences from participants. Saturation will be kept separate by groups (i.e., saturation of themes must be met within the group of patients separately from providers). Investigators will conduct preliminary data analysis after each 10 interviews to determine when saturation is reached. Recruitment numbers here are anticipated maximum numbers needed to reach saturation. Investigators plan to recruit and sample provider and patient populations in the following way. Investigators will group physicians by the physician's training so that we are sensitive to the fact that helpful patient-physician interaction approaches may differ across the patient's lifespan or with patient or physician experience with acupuncture. Audio recordings from each interview will be professionally transcribed and analysis will be concurrent with data collection to ensure reliability and validity of findings. Investigators will review transcripts as data are collected to identify emergent themes and ensure thematic saturation.

Conditions

Attitudes

Keywords

acupuncture

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Retrospective Interview Technique

  one year

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Lifeline Interview Method

  one year

Study Arms (2)

Physicians

Physicians who perform acupuncture

Patients

Patients who have received acupuncture treatment in the past

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Male and female Department of Defense beneficiaries ages 18 years or older who have received acupuncture and Male and female acupuncture providers will be recruited at the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Medical Center (MOFMC). No special populations (e.g., pregnant women, children, prisoners, detainees) will be recruited.

You may qualify if:

• Male and female Department of Defense beneficiaries, age 18 years or older, who have received acupuncture OR
• Male and female acupuncture providers

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mike O'Callaghan Military Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Mike O'Callaghan Federal Medical Center

Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 89191, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Behavior

Study Officials

• Jill M Clark, MBA/HCM

  Mike O'Callaghan Federal Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE ONLY
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: FED
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 27, 2016
• First Posted: August 4, 2016
• Study Start: July 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: January 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)