Participant experiences receiving acupuncture for acute musculoskeletal pain in an emergency department: A qualitative evaluation.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Acupuncture is an evidence-based pain treatment in clinic settings, but its optimal delivery has not been established in emergency departments (EDs). As part of an adaptive pragmatic randomized controlled trial of ED acupuncture for acute musculoskeletal pain (NCT04290741), we embedded a qualitative evaluation of acupuncture treatment acceptability and suggestions for improvement from study participants receiving acupuncture in the ED.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews conducted remotely evaluated factors impacting patients' perspectives, willingness to participate in, and experiences with ED acupuncture. The codebook was iteratively developed, and recruitment and analysis continued until information saturation was reached.

Results

Twenty-eight participants

SUBMITTER: Tupetz A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11819596 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature