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This study selected the top five general hospitals in the United States of America, collected the practice information of acupuncturists through the official website, and analyzed the professional department, expertise, professional title, education background, residency, fellowship, board certification, etc. of these acupuncturists to understand the practice situation of acupuncturists in the hospitals. The results of the study showed the practice of acupuncturists in the United States of America is improving. With further localization, locally trained acupuncturists have gradually become the main body of acupuncturists; acupuncture treatment is still mainly for analgesia, but the scope of treatment continues to expand, and departments that accept acupuncturists are gradually increasing. However, the group of licensed acupuncturists is still a minority in the group of acupuncturists in the United States of America. Native American physicians still use acupuncture as an alternative option and neglect to obtain a license. The entry barrier for acupuncturists still needs to be raised.
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@#Objective - （ ） To analyze the current situation of work related musculoskeletal disorders WMSDs in neck and low ， Methods back of acupuncturists and to explore its influencing factors. A total of 272 acupuncturists from 21 hospitals above grade B level in Guangdong Province were selected as study subjects using convenient sampling method. The revised Chinese ， version of Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire was used to investigate the prevalence of WMSDs in the past one year and Results the influencing factors of WMSDs in the high incidence areas such as neck and low back were analyzed. The annual （ ）， （ ） prevalence of WMSDs among acupuncturists was 94.9%. The prevalence of WMSDs in the neck 81.6% low back 81.6% （ ） ， and shoulder 63.2% was the highest and the prevalence of WMSDs in both the neck and low back was 73.5%. The prevalence - - （ vs ，P ） of multi site WMSDs was higher than that of single site WMSDs 86.0% 8.8% <0.01 . Multivariate logistic regression ， - ， ， analysis showed that acupuncturists who were female long time sitting work repeated operations within one minute and work （ P ） changing every day were common risk factors for neck or low back WMSDs or both neck and low back all <0.05 . Keeping the ， ， same posture for a long time driving to work and personnel shortage were risk factors for low back WMSDs in acupuncturists （ P ） （P ）Conclusion all <0.05 . Uncomfortable working posture was a risk factor for WMSDs in both neck and low back <0.05 . - ， - Acupuncturists are the high risk population of WMSDs and the neck and low back are the high risk sites of WMSDs. The influencing factors of WMSDs in acupuncturists include individual factors and occupational factors such as poor ergonomics and work organization.
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OBJECTIVE@#To explore the epidemiologic characteristics of acupuncturists who are sensitive to stimulation of moxa smoke, which could provide further direction for safety protection of exerting moxibustion and to further verify the feasibility of internet survey.@*METHODS@#A self-made questionnaire regarding body response to moxa smoke was established, which was used to conduct a face-to-face survey among acupuncturists who had performed long-term moxibustion. The Logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting the stimulation response of acupuncturists and the epidemiological characteristics of acupuncturists was obtained.@*RESULTS@#A total of 733 valid data was obtained. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the history of chronic respiratory disease was the main risk factor of stimulus response including cough, phlegm in the throat, asthma, dyspnea, shortness of breath and nasal dryness after exposure to moxa smoke (<0.05, <0.01). The risk of stimulus response such as cough, tearing and nasal dryness was higher in women than in men (<0.05, <0.01). The risk of dry eyes and eyes pain in smokers was higher than those in non-smokers (<0.05). The risk of shortness of breath in those who were exposed to second-hand smoke was higher than those who were not exposed to second-hand smoke (<0.05). The analysis of index trend line showed that the results of internet survey were similar to those of face-to-face survey.@*CONCLUSION@#The stimulus response of acupuncturist after long-term exposure to moxa smoke is related to the history of chronic respiratory disease, being female, smoking or exposure of second-hand smoke, therefore more attention should be paid to those populations. In addition, the internet survey can be used for the epidemiological investigation of safety of moxa smoke.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Cough , Moxibustion , Mucus , Smoke , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
In recent decades, acupuncture has been used more widely and extensively in the United States (U.S.). However, there have been no national surveys or analyses reported in academic journals on the number of practicing or licensed acupuncturists. This study was conducted to identify the approximate number of licensed acupuncturists active in 2015. The Board of Acupuncture or Board of Medicine in each state or U.S. territory was contacted to collect data. Online license information searching was also performed in order to get accurate numbers of licensed acupuncturists for those states in which a board was unable to be contacted. The study found that the number of licensed acupuncturists in 2015 in the U.S. was 34,481. Of this, more than 50% were licensed in three states alone: California (32.39%), New York (11.89%) and Florida (7.06%). The number of licensed acupuncturists increased 23.30% and 52.09%, compared to the year 2009 (n = 27,965) and 2004 (n = 22,671), respectively; increasing about 1,266 per year. There were 62 and 10 accredited acupuncture institutions providing master and doctoral degrees, respectively. The West Coast comprised 51.39% of degree granting programs, while the East Coast comprised 29.17%; together the coastal states housed more than 80% of all programs, with the remainder sprinkled across the southern (9.72%), northern (8.33%), and the middle/central states (1.39%). Forty-four states and the District of Columbia regulated acupuncture practice by law at the time of data collection. Acupuncture continues to be a quickly growing profession in the U.S.
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[Objective] To explore the academic thoughts of Scientific Acupuncture Study.[Method] Using traditional philological research methods, careful reading of the original text of the book to summarize. [Result] Academic thought of Scientific Acupuncture Therapy can be summarized as: acupuncture treatment principle is scientific;acupoint location has the correct standard; treatment principle of each syndrome; internal and external factors of the com-bined use of Chinese and western treatment of disease and analysis of acupuncture treatment success.[Conclusion] The combination of TCM and western medicine,acupuncture and moxibustion medicine is worth our reference and study.
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[Objective]This study was performed to clarify the benefits and challenges of the acupuncture clinic at the university hospital. <BR>[Methodology]In May, 2012 information on acupuncture clinics from the websites of 80 university hospitals in Japan was analyzed. Information on the experience of the acupuncture clinic at Mie University Hospital was provided by the department of anesthesia at that hospital. <BR>[Results]The number of university hospitals which operate acupuncture clinics was 16. Three types of acupuncture clinics were observed, first was an independent center separated from the university hospital, second was a department specific to oriental medicine within the hospital, and third was a certain medical department such as anesthesia or rehabilitation. In the case of Mie University Hospital, establishment of the acupuncture clinic was proposed in 2007 as a part of collaborative works under the partnership agreement between Mie University and Suzuka University of Medical Science. The acupuncture clinic was then established as the outpatient clinic of anesthesia from 2010. The staff of the acupuncture clinic consists of three acupuncturists belonging to Mie University Hospital, and three faculty members from Suzuka University of Medical Science. A total of 2,749 medical treatments were carried out in the past two years. Through case conferences between physicians and acupuncturists, the level of acupuncture care has improved. For example, electronic medical records were shared, and medical safety management was intensified. However, the number of referrals of hospitalized patients to the acupuncture clinic fell sharply in the second year of the establishment. The main reason was thought to be that the patients who required pain management were referred to the palliative care team which had started full-fledged operation during the second year. An effort to promote cooperation between acupuncturists and the palliative care team is now in progress.<BR>[Discussion]Although there are some challenges to be overcome, establishment of the acupuncture clinic at the university hospital may help promote acupuncture based on scientific evidence, and improve the understanding of acupuncture in the entire medical community. Active proposals of treatments by acupuncturists and promotion of mutual understanding and cooperation between acupuncturists, physicians, and other health care professionals are essential for the successful establishment of acupuncture clinics.<BR>[Conclusion]Although there are several challenges to be overcome, establishment of the acupuncture clinic at the university hospital has a great significance for the promotion and development of acupuncture in Japan.
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[Objective]To survey the current situation of infection control in clinical practice of acupuncture and to discuss the problems and strategy.<BR>[Methods]The subjects were 1,000 acupuncture clinics enrolled in iTownPage in the Chubu region. The questionnaire was sent to them by mail in November 2008. The questions were the following; 1) Profile of respondent, 2) Hand hygiene, 3) Preparation of needling sites, 4) Sterilization and storage of needles and equipment and disposable products, 5) Disposable needle, 6) Hand-pressing (Oshi-de), 7) Infectious waste, 8) Awareness, efforts and self-evaluation of practitioner for infection control, and 9) Comments of this survey.<BR>[Results]The collection rate was 22.2%. Washing time for less than 30 sec was 31.1%, Usage rate of a cloth towel was 67.7%, Hand antisepsis by the basin method was 18.9%, Usage rate of 50 %isopropyl alcohol was 19.8%, etc. 26.6%of all respondents answered that the possibility of infection in acupuncture and moxibustion therapy was very low and 50.9%of those responded that it was low. However, only 27.0%of the responders answered that infection control in their own clinics was appropriate. In addition, 72.5%of the responders belonged to the Japan Acupuncture and Moxibustion Association (JAMA) or the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM).<BR>[Conclusion]Although some infection controls have been improved, many problems became clear. These problems are suggested to be caused by poor acknowledge, previous experience and wishful thinking of practitioners. It is necessary to continue activities to raise practitioner's awareness for infection control.
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We have been utilized acupuncture and moxibustion in our department of internal medicine at Meiji University of Integrative Medicine since its investment in 1987. In the department, various kinds of symptoms in the field of internal medicine have been managed with acupuncture and moxibustion. In this article, I would like to introduce our activities regarding acupuncture treatment in the department of internal medicine and some remarkable results of our clinical studies which evaluated effects of acupuncture and moxibustion as well as relationship between acupuncture therapists and the staff of our department. In the field of respiratory disorders such as COPD or bronchial asthma, usefulness of acupuncture have been proved through a controlled clinical trial which involved COPD patients who had not been able to control with standard care. Also, acupuncture was found to be useful in the management of bronchial asthma in a case series study in which acupuncture treatment was repeatedly applied with intervals without acupuncture. We have also demonstrated that acupuncture was useful for gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Results of a case series with n-of-1 study design showed significant reduction in the symptoms during acupuncture treatment, while those in the period without acupuncture had been aggravated. Data from studies on diabetic complications such as peripheral neuropathy or gastropathy also showed usefulness of acupuncture. We considered that it is valuable to explore unknown usefulness of acupuncture in the field of internal medicine and prove effectiveness of acupuncture with appropriate scientific manner.