IBS is commonly encountered and difficult to treat, which has led to a growing interest in acupuncture as a potential treatment option.
Objective:
To map how acupuncturists envision treating IBS in routine practice and the influential factors involved in their decision making.
Design:
In-depth interviews were used to access acupuncturists' views on potential treatments. A purposive sample of acupuncturists, with a background in traditional Chinese medicine, was invited to participate. Data were collected using a pragmatic approach and were analyzed using content and exploratory analyses.
Results:
Twelve acupuncturists completed an in-depth interview. Acupuncturists acknowledged that patients rarely mention IBS as their primary complaint, but as many as half of their patients have irregular bowel symptoms. Additionally acupuncturists agreed on several commonly encountered diagnoses based on TCM principles and the importance of diagnosis in influencing treatment principle, point selection, use of additional therapies, and dissemination of lifestyle advice.
Conclusions:
Although there was some repetition of diagnoses and points selected, acupuncturists maintained that understanding each individual case was essential to determining the treatment to be delivered. In addition to individualization, acupuncturists base their decisions regarding treatment design on their training and personal preference, which is apparently not influenced by gender nor years in practice.
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