Designing a Successful Acupuncture Treatment Program for Gulf War Illness
Abstract
Background: In 2013, our study team completed the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program grant "The Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Gulf War Illness" (W81XWH-09-2-0064). The results of this Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial (n=104) support the use of acupuncture to treat the symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI). Our primary analysis showed a significant average improvement of 9.4 points in Veterans physical functioning and quality of life after 6 months of treatment. Veterans reported pain levels also significantly improved a significant 6.2 points. Usability was also high with 96% of the Veterans in the study reporting confidence in recommending acupuncture to a friend or family member (or at least a 3 on a five point scale from "Very Confident" to "Not Confident"), 98% reporting that the acupuncture experience was at least pleasant (or at least a 3 on a five point scale from "Extremely Pleasant" to "Extremely Unpleasant"), and 97% reporting that their relationship with their practitioner was pleasant (or at last a 3 on a five point scale from "Extremely Pleasant" to "Extremely Unpleasant"). This current application has three objectives: (1) Gather follow-up data from our Veteran participants on current symptom levels and use of services to explore the long-term effects of an acupuncture treatment program. (2) Develop suggestions for how an acupuncture program may be implemented using the viewpoints of multiple stakeholders. (3) Develop a treatment manual for acupuncture practitioners explaining the most effective methods of treating the symptoms of GWI. Two aims support these goals. Aim 1: Survey Veteran participants for their current symptom levels and use of acupuncture and other services using approved surveys to all participants. Aim 2: Conduct effectiveness research/program evaluation of our acupuncture treatments and study design from the viewpoint of multiple stakeholders: Veterans, acupuncturists/clinicians, and scientists using (1) approved surveys to all participants and (2) approved focus groups (which are group interviews) with multiple stakeholders. (3) In addition, a Delphi process (which is a technique developed by the RAND corporation of systematically distilling large amounts of technical information into a usable format) will be implemented to create acupuncture treatment guidelines and a practical tool to treat the symptoms of GWI with acupuncture. This 2-year project will implement these evaluative techniques to add to (1) the scientific understanding of GWI and (2) knowledge of how to best apply the treatment of acupuncture in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and military settings. Acupuncture has been recommended as an adjunctive treatment for pain by the Army s Pain Management Task Force and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of other GWI symptoms such as fatigue, state, trait and situational anxiety, and depression. Further, there is evidence that acupuncture may be effective in the treatment of other complex diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and post-traumatic stress disorder in populations experiencing trauma. There is also evidence that acupuncture treatments may utilize the same biological mechanisms of important to other complex medical illnesses. Acupuncture is well-received in Veteran populations. Statistics of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) (including acupuncture) use within military populations ranges from 23% to 81.5% depending on the population surveyed and the types of CAM surveyed. Despite its varied use among Veterans and military populations, 69% of active military report they would use CAM if it was provided in a military treatment facility between 69% and 73% to 99.5% of Veterans would utilize CAM modalities it offered within the VA healthcare system. These results indicate that the introduction of acupuncture into the VA system would be heavily utilized. Currently no sing
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510695
Entities
People
- Lisa Conboy
Organizations
- New England School of Acupuncture
- United States Army