Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorWhite, Adrian
dc.contributor.authorBorud, Einar Kristian
dc.contributor.authorAlræk, Terje
dc.contributor.authorFønnebø, Vinjar
dc.contributor.authorGrimsgaard, Sameline
dc.date.accessioned2009-11-12T13:25:16Z
dc.date.available2009-11-12T13:25:16Z
dc.date.issued2007-02-26
dc.description.abstractBackground: After menopause, 10–20% of all women have nearly intolerable hot flushes. Long term use of hormone replacement therapy involves a health risk, and many women seek alternative strategies to relieve climacteric complaints. Acupuncture is one of the most frequently used complementary therapies in Norway. We designed a study to evaluate whether Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture-care together with self-care is more effective than self-care alone to relieve climacteric complaints. <br>Methods/Design: The study is a multi-centre pragmatic randomised controlled trial with two parallel arms. Participants are postmenopausal women who document ≥7 flushes/24 hours and who are not using hormone replacement therapy or other medication that may influence flushes. According to power calculations 200 women are needed to detect a 50% reduction in flushes, and altogether 286 women will be recruited to allow for a 30% dropout rate. <br>The treatment group receives 10 sessions of Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture-care and self-care; the control group will engage in self-care only. A team of experienced Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncturists give acupuncture treatments. <br>Discussion: The study tests acupuncture as a complete treatment package including the therapeutic relationship and expectation. The intervention period lasts for 12 weeks, with follow up at 6 and 12 months. Primary endpoint is change in daily hot flush frequency in the two groups from baseline to 12 weeks; secondary endpoint is health related quality of life, assessed by the Women's Health Questionnaire. We also collect data on Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnoses, and we examine treatment experiences using a qualitative approach. Finally we measure biological variables, to examine potential mechanisms for the effect of acupuncture. The study is funded by The Research Council of Norway.en
dc.descriptionThis article is part of Einar Kristian Borud's PhD thesis, which is available in Munin: <a href=http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2449>http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2449</a>en
dc.format.extent285744 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2007, 7:6 - doi:10.1186/1472-6882-7-6en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/2235
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:no-uit_munin_1987
dc.language.isoengen
dc.publisherBioMed Centralen
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccess
dc.subjectVDP::Medical disciplines: 700::Health sciences: 800::Community medicine, Social medicine: 801en
dc.subjectmenopauseen
dc.subjectAcupunctureen
dc.subjectself-careen
dc.subjectTraditional Chinese Medicineen
dc.titleThe effect of TCM acupuncture on hot flushes among menopausal women (ACUFLASH) study: A study protocol of an ongoing multi-centre randomised controlled clinical trialen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen
dc.typePeer revieweden


File(s) in this item

Thumbnail
Thumbnail

This item appears in the following collection(s)

Show simple item record