A Survey of Acupuncture Chinese Herbal Medicine Students to Identify Barriers to Teaching and Motivations to Study Acupuncture Research

Abstract

Background:

While acupuncture use and research publications are growing in the United States, we know little about acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine (ACHM) students’ beliefs and behaviors regarding acupuncture research.

Purpose:

This project aims to identify barriers to teaching acupuncture research and opportunities to engage and excite students to study acupuncture research. To our knowledge, a national survey of acupuncture students’ research interests has not been completed previously.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey of 32 closed and 6 open-ended questions was administered once through SurveyMonkey^© to ACHM students in the United States. Analysis techniques include simple tabulations with confidence intervals for central tendency, along with selected correlations between variables.

Results:

We received responses from students at 36 different schools, with 16 schools not represented. The total number of student respondents recorded was 467. We found heterogeneity in many of the attitude and behavior response sets, highlighting the diversity of students’ viewpoints. Many students were comfortable with their level of research skills. Attitudes toward the importance of research for the ACHM profession were often correlated with each other, with demographics suggesting that the background and demographics of the students may be related to their attitudes towards research education. These relationships can help tailor ways to address specific subpopulations of acupuncture students and students interested in studying acupuncture research.

Discussion:

The authors are ACHM educators and researchers who offer data-based suggestions to potentially improve students’ appreciation of the importance of research to ACHM.