Personal and professional use of acupuncture among medical practitioners in Norway 1994-2004

Abstract

BACKGROUND Previous research have documented that acupuncture distinguish itself by being the complementary or alternative therapy that medical practitioners most often use both personally and professionally. Possible changes over the years have not previously been investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS In February 1994 and November 2004 equivalent postal surveys were sent to proportional, stratified, random samples of working members of the Norwegian Medical Association under 71 years of age. Sampling frame, sample and respondents amounted to 11 728, 1466 and 1135 (77 %) in 1994, and 16 462, 1646 and 962 (58 %) in 2004. Personal and professional use of acupuncture were analysed overall and separately for gender, age and position within year and between years by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The percentage of medical practitioners having used acupuncture for own disease has doubled, 18 % in 2004 versus 8 % in 1994 (OR 2.19 p<0.001), and there is an increase for all subgroups. Half the physicians intend to use acupuncture for own disease, 55 % in 2004 and 53 % in 1994 (p=0.245), four percent practice acupuncture both years (p=0.829), fewer physicians intend to learn acupuncture, 5 % versus 8 % (OR 0.64 p=0.033), more than a third recommend acupuncture for migraine, 37 % and 41 % (p=0.569) and fewer find that acupuncture is incorporated in the health care system, 45 % versus 52 % (OR 0.76 p=0.004); however these results does not apply to all subgroups. CONCLUSION Medical practitioners of 2004 have positive attitudes toward acupuncture as a therapeutic method, but are rather acupuncture patients than acupuncturists. KEY WORDS Complementary medicine, acupuncture, attitudes, medical practitioners, Norway