Maria T. Chao|Kimberly M Tippens|Erin Connelly
Utilization of Group-Based, Community Acupuncture Clinics: A Comparative Study with a Nationally Representative Sample of Acupuncture Users
University of California, San Francisco|National University of Natural Medicine|National University of Natural Medicine
acupuncture utilization united states increased recent years less common among racialethnic minorities low socioeconomic status groupbased community acupuncture delivery model gaining popularity around united states due part lowcost treatments provided slidingfee scale affordable communitybased acupuncture may increase access health care time increasing numbers people uninsured assess population using local community acupuncture clinics sociodemographic factors health status utilization patterns compared national acupuncture users examineddata employed 1 crosssectional survey 478 clients two community acupuncture clinics portland oregon 2 nationally representative sample acupuncture users 2007 national health interview surveyportland community acupuncture clients homogeneous racially higher educational attainment lower household income likely receive 10 treatments past 12 months odds ratio539 95 confidence interval354 822 compared nationally representative sample us acupuncture users selfreported health status medical reasons seeking acupuncture treatment similar groups back pain 21 joint pain 17 depression 13 common conditions seeking treatment community acupuncture clinicsstudy findings suggest local community acupuncture clinics reach individuals broad socioeconomic spectrum may allow increased frequency treatment limited racial diversity among community acupuncture clients may reflect local demographics portland addition exposure knowledge acupuncture likely vary race ethnicity future studies examine access patient satisfaction frequency treatment clinical outcomes groupbased models community acupuncture clinics located racially socioeconomically diverse communities