The Use of Narrative in Public Health Research and Practice: Patient Experience of Wellness Acupuncture

August 17, 2006 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
This study examined the experiences of individuals undergoing acupuncture to gather information on patient-provider communication and on the therapeutic effects of acupuncture.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Detailed Description

Authentic voice is a approach involving the use of first-hand narratives from members of a target population in order to accomplish public health goals. In the first paper, a discussion of the potential of using narratives from the target population as 1) a direct intervention; 2) a form of persuasive communications; and 3) a source of information for research into various topics. The main premise is that traditional narrative methods can be adapted to the public health context by providing the narrator with the topic of the narrative. The second paper examines the patient experience of acupuncture using narrative drawn from interviews with and letters from acupuncture patients using a content oriented approach. The third paper examines the importance of meaning shift over the course of acupuncture treatment and demonstrates the usefulness of patient narratives as a data source for examining meaning. Findings include the need for intervention studies comparing authentic voice approaches to existing health communication tools for effectiveness in creating attitude and behavior change efficiently. Authentic voice approaches also need to be researched to understand and systematize concepts such as validity in relation to target-group derived narratives. Effectiveness of authentic voice for advocacy and research should also be further tested. Concerning acupuncture, the second and third papers show that acupuncture patients report a variety of benefits far wider than previously reported in the literature. Study designs should consider this wide range of benefits when assessing acupuncture outcome. Meaning shift is also reported by acupuncture patients and may play an important (but non-specific) role in the healing associated with acupuncture.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment

30

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • individuals seeking acupuncture from private practice in Baltimore/Washington metro area.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • prior patients

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mark A Stibich, PhD, Johns Hokins School of Public Health

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2003

Study Completion

March 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 12, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 12, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 20, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 18, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2006

Last Verified

December 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • F31AT000789-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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